Frenchman Benjamin Brière still detained in Iran despite his acquittal
A sign demanding the release of Benjamin Brière during a demonstration in support of French detainees in Iran, in Paris on January 28, 2023. © Stéphane de Sakutin / AFP
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Frenchman Benjamin Brière, detained in Iran since the end of May 2020 and sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage, remains imprisoned despite being "
acquitted of all charges
" on appeal on February 15, AFP told AFP. his lawyer and his family.
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After the acquittal verdict on February 15, the court ordered "
his immediate release
" the following day.
But the French, on hunger strike since January 28, "
was not released by the Revolutionary Guards who keep him imprisoned
", reports his French lawyer Me Philippe Valent.
"
At the last moment, he was blocked in extremis
" and remains imprisoned in Vakilabad prison in Mashad (north-east), explained his defense, denouncing "
incredible psychological violence
" against the French and his family.
“
We demand respect by the Iranian regime for the court decisions
,” he added.
“
Benjamin is in total incomprehension, like us
”, for his part declared his sister Blandine to RFI, specifying that she had been able to speak to him last Sunday.
“
We all had an emotional lift
,” she said, explaining that the family had not made the court decision public in the hope that the situation would unblock.
Blandine Brière expresses her "total incomprehension" about her brother Benjamin acquitted but still imprisoned in Iran
Nicolas Falez
Benjamin Brière, who always presented himself as a tourist, was arrested in May 2020 for
taking "
photographs of prohibited areas
"
with a recreational drone in a natural park.
In total, six French people are detained in Iran, as part of what France denounces as "
hostage diplomacy
" carried out by the Iranian regime.
The seventh,
researcher Fariba Adelkhah, was released on February 10
after three and a half years in prison but does not know whether she has recovered all her rights, including that of leaving Iran.
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To read also:
Iran: the sordid diplomacy of hostages
(
With
AFP)
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