Iran Sentences French Tourist to 8 Years and 8 Months in Prison

An Iranian court sentenced Benjamin Brière to eight years and eight months in prison on charges of “espionage” and “propaganda against the system.” The tourist is currently on a hunger strike in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. His lawyer called the trial a “farce.”

France’s news agency reported on Tuesday, January 25, citing Philippe Valent, Benjamin Brière’s lawyer, of the tourist’s conviction to eight years and eight months in prison. The court sentenced him to 8 years in prison on charges of “espionage” and 8 months on charges of “propaganda against the system.” Brière’s lawyer in Paris called his client’s trial a “farce.”

Philippe Valent stated in a statement that his 36-year-old client, who was arrested during a trip to Iran in May 2020, is currently on a hunger strike.

The French lawyer emphasized that Brière’s sentence was handed down in a completely political process and that his client has been taken hostage by the Iranian regime for negotiations.

Benjamin Brière has now spent more than a year and a half in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. Islamic Republic authorities accuse him of espionage by flying a drone from restricted photography areas.

This French citizen has no right to contact his family. Brière’s family considers him an innocent tourist who, in 2018, began a long road trip from Scandinavian countries before entering Iran.

Benjamin Brière is among more than ten citizens of Western countries imprisoned in Iran. Civil activists say these individuals, who have committed no crimes, are “hostages” of the Revolutionary Guards to extort Western countries and force them to comply with Islamic Republic demands.

Islamic Republic authorities claim that these individuals are imprisoned based on laws governing the country, but Tehran’s leadership has previously shown willingness to exchange foreign prisoners with Iranians imprisoned in Western countries.

Another imprisoned French citizen in Iran is Fariba Adelkhah, an anthropological researcher who was arrested in Iran in June 2019 and sentenced in April 2020 to a non-final six-year prison sentence on charges of “gathering and conspiracy against national security” and “propaganda against the system.” On July 1, 2020, the judiciary announced a final sentence of 5 years imprisonment. Due to illness, she is under house arrest, but the judiciary recently returned her to prison for “violating” the movement restrictions during her house arrest period.

Source: DW