EU Must Strongly Condemn Baseless Eight-Year Prison Sentence for French Tourist

All governments negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran over the country’s nuclear program, including France, Britain, the United States, and Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, must condemn the illegal prison sentence against Benjamin Brière, a French traveler.

Hadi Ghaemi, director of the Iran Human Rights Campaign, referring to the confirmation of Benjamin Brière’s sentence in the appeals court, said: “Benjamin Brière was arrested by Iran’s security agencies to allow the authorities to use him as another bargaining chip in political negotiations with Western governments.”

According to Hadi Ghaemi: “The policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities in detaining dual nationals and foreign citizens for political and economic concessions from other countries continues, and silence in the face of this apparent extortion by the Islamic Republic of Iran reflects helplessness and inability to develop and articulate an effective approach to counter the consequences of this issue, and ultimately only leads to an increase in the number of hostages.”

The Iran Human Rights Campaign calls on all world leaders, particularly those negotiating with Iran over the country’s nuclear program, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council, to loudly and decisively condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran’s practice of openly holding citizens of other countries hostage.

Benjamin Brière: From Arrest for Drone Photography to Charges of Propaganda Against the System for Sympathizing with Victims of a Commercial Airplane Downing

Saeed Dehghan, one of Benjamin Brière’s lawyers, told the Iran Human Rights Campaign: “The Seventh Branch of the Khorasan Razavi Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence of eight years and eight months in prison for Benjamin Brière on charges of espionage and cooperation with France (referred to by the court as a ‘hostile state’) as well as propaganda against the system.”

Saeed Dehghan emphasized that no court in the Islamic Republic of Iran had previously referred to France as a “hostile state.”

According to Saeed Dehghan: “The charge of propaganda against the system brought against Benjamin Brière was because this French citizen expressed sympathy for the victims of the commercial airplane downed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

Benjamin Brière has also been accused of having “suspicious contacts” with people opposed to the government and using his ordinary professional skills and equipment (having several hard drives and mobile phones).

Benjamin Brière, a French citizen currently imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, was arrested in May 2020 while photographing with a remotely controlled drone near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. Benjamin Brière was denied access to a lawyer during the first nine months of his detention.

Some media outlets have described Benjamin Brière as a travel blogger who documented his travels through photography, including “self-portraits.”

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously described the charges and initial sentence against Benjamin Brière as “baseless” and “unacceptable.”

At Least 18 Foreign Nationals and Dual Citizens Detained in Iran Without Due Legal Process

Brière is one of at least 18 foreign nationals and dual citizens detained in Iran without due legal process and serving prison sentences. It is believed that the actual number of foreign nationals and dual citizens imprisoned in Iran is higher than this figure. The families of some detainees keep the names of the detained and case details secret in hopes of the false promises made by authorities regarding early release of prisoners.

Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French academic researcher, as well as Cécile Kohler (a member of the French Teachers’ Union) and her husband Jacques Paris, are among French citizens currently imprisoned in Iran.

Fariba Adelkhah, research director at Sciences Po University, is serving her five-year prison sentence in Tehran. She had previously been released with electronic monitoring but was returned to Evin Prison to continue serving her punitive sentence.

The charges against the other French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, remain unclear, but the Islamic Republic of Iran’s security authorities have attempted to accuse these citizens of cooperation and involvement in Iranian teachers’ protests. Although professional teachers’ protests have a long history throughout the country dating back years before this French couple’s trip to Iran.

According to Hadi Ghaemi: “If the international community does not force the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities to be accountable for their hostage-taking policy, more foreign nationals and dual citizens will be arrested by Iran’s security apparatus.”

Ghaemi stressed: “Lack of effective action now puts everyone at risk.”

Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign