French prisoner in Iran goes on hunger strike
The Iranian judiciary has denied Benjamin Brier, a French citizen imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, permission to contact his family on Christmas. This is one of the reasons he has been on a hunger strike since December 25.
A French citizen who has been held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for more than a year and a half on charges of “espionage” has gone on a hunger strike to protest the conditions of his imprisonment. He has strongly denied the accusations made by the Islamic Republic authorities.
Benjamin Brier, 36, was arrested in Iran in May 2020. Authorities in the Islamic Republic accuse him of flying a drone to take photos of prohibited areas.
"Benjamin has been on a hunger strike since December 25 to protest the ban on contact with his family over Christmas and to draw attention to the mistreatment he has suffered over the past 20 months," Blandine Brier, the sister of the French prisoner, told AFP.
Ms. Breyer added that there had been no change in her brother's legal status.
Benjamin Breyer's family considers him an innocent tourist who began a long journey in his caravan from Scandinavian countries in 2018 before entering Iran.
Saeed Dehghan, Barir’s Iranian lawyer, said in May 2011 that the prosecutor’s office had confirmed that the prisoner would be tried on charges of “espionage” and “propaganda against the regime.” If Barir is convicted of these charges, he could face the death penalty.
The French Foreign Ministry has called the espionage accusation against Brier "incomprehensible."
Blandin Breyer said it has not yet been decided which court will hear the case.
Ms. Brier said her brother was being “held hostage” in Iran and “this is illegal and we have no other information,” adding that Benjamin needed more help from the French Foreign Ministry.
Benjamin Breyer is one of more than a dozen Western citizens imprisoned in Iran. Activists say these innocent people, who have committed no crime, are being held as “hostages” by the Revolutionary Guards to force Western countries to accept their demands.
Officials in the Islamic Republic have repeatedly stated that these individuals are being held in prison in accordance with the country's laws, but Tehran's leadership has shown in the past that it is prepared to exchange these Western citizens imprisoned in Iran for Iranians imprisoned in Western countries.
Another French citizen imprisoned in Iran is Fariba Adelkhah, an anthropology researcher who was arrested in Iran in June 2019 and sentenced to a non-final sentence of 6 years in prison in May 2020 on charges of “gathering and colluding to act against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” On July 1, 2020, the judiciary announced a final sentence of 5 years in prison. She is under house arrest due to illness.
Roland Marchal, a French researcher and Fariba Adelkhah's partner, was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards in June 2019 while traveling to Iran to meet with Adelkhah and was released in March 2020 in a prisoner exchange between Iran and France.
Jalal Ruhollahnejad, who was exchanged for Marshall, is an Iranian who was imprisoned in France on charges of circumventing US sanctions against Iran and was due to be extradited to the United States.
Source: DW
