Court of Appeal; Benjamin Briere Sentenced to 8 Years and 8 Months Imprisonment
Hrana News Agency – Branch 7 of the Court of Appeal of Razavi Khorasan Province has upheld the conviction of Benjamin Briere, a French tourist, in full. Mr. Briere, who is currently serving his sentence in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad, was previously sentenced to 8 years and 8 months imprisonment by the primary court.
According to Hrana News Agency, the news organ of the Iran Human Rights Activists Network, the conviction of the French tourist imprisoned in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad has been upheld in full.
Saeed Dehghan, one of Mr. Briere’s lawyers, stated in an interview with Hrana that this verdict was issued and announced by Branch 7 of the Court of Appeal of Razavi Khorasan Province. According to Mr. Dehghan’s statements, France is recognized as an “hostile state” in the issued verdict. On the other hand, “sympathy with the victims of the Ukrainian aircraft” was announced as one of the reasons for his conviction. Additionally, expertise in the field of computer science, possession of more than one hard drive, and having a mobile phone were stated as other reasons for issuing this verdict.
Benjamin Briere was sentenced last winter by Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad to 8 years and 8 months of punitive imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the system and espionage.” The court hearing to examine the charges against this French tourist was held on Thursday, December 30, 2021, six hundred days after his arrest.
Saeed Dehghan, one of Mr. Briere’s defense lawyers, had previously written about the details of his court hearing on his personal Twitter page: “1- Before the session began, they changed the courtroom from three to four. 2- The court was not “open,” but they brought video cameras and photographers. 3- The new judge’s position was clear in this first court session itself. 4- By using the word exchange, they made the responsibility clear too!”
Previously, a non-prosecution order had been issued for this French tourist regarding two charges of corruption on earth and alcohol consumption.
This French citizen was arrested by security forces in early June 2020.
On February 20, 2021, the French newspaper Figaro reported the arrest of a dual Iranian-French citizen and a German citizen in Iran, adding that the French citizen was arrested while using a small drone in Iranian deserts.
Dehghan also told Hrana’s correspondent in this regard: “The published reports, based on the news that the Figaro newspaper published in France, were made according to the common interpretation of the word Drone as a drone, while this person, as a tourist, carried an ordinary ‘helicam’ for photography purposes. The use of this word by the Figaro newspaper caused this misinterpretation by some media outlets. Also, in this newspaper’s report, this citizen was referred to as a French-Iranian citizen, while Benjamin is a French citizen.”
Benjamin Briere’s final defense hearing was held in February 2021. According to Saeed Dehghan, a lawyer, the reason for the espionage charge was photographing restricted areas, and the reason for the propaganda charge against the system was raising the question on social networks: “Why is the hijab mandatory in the Islamic Republic but optional in other Islamic countries?”
In early December 2021, Benjamin Briere went on a hunger strike in protest of being denied the right to make phone calls and contact his family on Christmas Eve. He ultimately ended his hunger strike in mid-February of the same year in Vakil Abad Prison.
Source: Hrana
