Iran Accuses Imprisoned French Citizen of ‘Espionage’
Benjamin Barber, a French citizen imprisoned in Iran, has been accused of “espionage and propaganda against the system.”
Saied Dehqan, one of the prisoner’s lawyers, wrote in a tweet posted on Monday, the 25th of Esfand, that the “final defense” of the accused has been submitted, and the reason for the espionage charge against him was “photography taken by this French tourist of restricted areas.”
According to the lawyer, the reason for the propaganda charge against the prisoner was that Benjamin Barber had written in the media asking “why is the hijab ‘mandatory’ in the Islamic Republic but ‘optional’ in other Islamic countries?”.
Dehqan had announced on the sixth of Esfand that his client was arrested approximately nine months ago and to date, the prisoner, who is held in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad, has not been allowed to meet with his lawyer.
A person close to the French citizen’s family told Reuters that he was arrested after flying “a drone” in fields near the Iran-Turkmenistan border.
Saied Dehqan, a lawyer, however, said on the sixth of Esfand in an interview with HRANA news agency: “This person, as a tourist, had an ordinary ‘helicopter’ for photography purposes” and the charges brought against him are “contradictory and baseless.”
Also, a person close to Benjamin’s family said that he traveled to Iran by van from France. According to him, Benjamin has been in contact with his family since his arrest in Ordibehesht and has spoken with his family in France twice.
The French Foreign Ministry previously confirmed the detention of one of its citizens in Iran and added that employees of the French embassy have been in contact with him and he has access to consular services.
In recent years, Iran has arrested several Iranian dual-nationals on charges of espionage and cooperation with hostile countries.
One of these individuals is Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French citizen, who was sentenced to six years in prison on security charges in Ordibehesht of this year. Roland Marchal, Ms. Adelkhah’s fiancé who is a university professor and was arrested with her, was released several months ago.
Mr. Marchal was released after Jalal Rohollahnejad, an Iranian engineer who was imprisoned in France for violating American sanctions, was freed.
Human rights groups have accused the Iranian government of using the detention of dual-nationals as a tool to gain leverage in economic and diplomatic dealings with Western countries.
The Iranian government has denied that it detains dual-nationals for political reasons and emphasizes that most detained foreigners and dual-nationals have been convicted on espionage charges.
Experts believe that the future of Iran’s negotiations with European powers regarding the revival of the JCPOA and reducing tensions between Tehran and the new U.S. administration will be greatly influenced by the fate of foreign and dual-national prisoners in Iran.
Source: Radio Farda
