Benjamin Breyer's sister tells VOA: We are caught up in the political conflict of Iranian officials
In response to the Iranian judicial authorities' sentencing of her brother to eight years in prison, Blandin Brier, the sister of Benjamin Brier, said that it was clear to her that this case was political and that this was something Iran had done before.
An Iranian court on Tuesday found Benjamin Brier, a French citizen imprisoned in Iran, guilty of espionage charges and sentenced him to eight years and eight months in prison.
Ms. Breyer said in an exclusive interview with the Voice of America Persian Service on Wednesday, February 26: "We learned of the verdict yesterday. It was very heavy news for us. But we are angry and we know we are caught in a political conflict, now it is clear."
Benjamin Breyer's sister added: "It's clear because we know how Iran does this and has done it before. They had no evidence, the trial was held behind closed doors, Benjamin had no access to his defense team. If this wasn't political, they would have allowed Benjamin to have access to his defense team or they would have held the trial in public. So I think now it's political."
The court ruling came a day earlier. Mr. Breyer's lawyer said in a statement: "This ruling is the result of a purely political process."
Regarding the next steps, Blandin Breyer said: "Our next step is to appeal the verdict, and we will do so, but I don't expect to appeal the verdict because we had an unfair trial first, and now we're going to have another unfair trial, and I don't think there will be any change in the verdict. It will still be a political and unfair trial."
Ms. Breyer said about what they expect from the French government: "I am putting pressure on the French government by talking to the media and that Benjamin is just a tourist and should be released. I have no information about negotiations or prisoner exchanges, because I am an ordinary person and I know nothing. But now I am asking the government to take action and do everything possible to free him. I know that the government knows what to do and has done it before. They know very well that Benjamin is not a spy, the Iranian government also knows that Benjamin is not a spy, everyone knows this, but now it is time for the French government to do something about it."
Benjamin Breyer has been on a hunger strike since Christmas to protest the restrictions he faces in prison and is still on it.
Blandin Breyer said of her brother's condition: "I haven't spoken to Benjamin in a few days. Yesterday he was still on a hunger strike for the court. He is determined to continue it and change the situation. Now we are concerned about his mental and emotional health because he has been on a hunger strike for more than a month and he is physically exhausted and low on energy. We are concerned about his condition because he continues this hunger strike and may risk his life in this fight."
Benjamin Breyer's sister had previously said in an interview with the Persian service of the Voice of America that the government of the Islamic Republic had taken her brother hostage.
Currently, in addition to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Morad Tahbaz, Mehrdad Raouf, and Anousheh Ashouri (Iranian-British citizens), several other dual and multi-nationals are imprisoned in Iran, including Emad Sharghi, Siamak Namazi, and his father Bagher Namazi (Iranian-American citizens), Ahmadreza Jalali (Iranian-Swedish researcher), Masoud Mosaheb and Kamran Ghaderi (Iranian-Austrian citizens), Fariba Adelkhah (Iranian-French citizen), and Nahid Taghavi (German citizen of Iranian descent).
Source: Voice of America
