France confirms the release of two of its citizens who were detained in Iran

First modification: 05/12/2023 – 18:36

French citizens Benjamin Brière and Bernard Phelan, who is also an Irish national, were released after being held in a prison in Mashhad, north-eastern Iran. Both are now “on their way to France”, Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed.

The two were among some two dozen foreigners jailed in the Islamic Republic, considered by human rights activists to be “hostages” in a deliberate ploy by Tehran to extract concessions from the West.

Phelan, 64, a travel consultant and resident of Paris, was arrested last October in Mashhad and has been in detention ever since.

Last April, he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on charges against national security, which the detainee’s family categorically rejected.

Phelan’s family previously noted that his health deteriorated significantly during his time in detention. Phelan went on hunger strike in January this year to protest his arrest, but stopped the action at the request of his loved ones who feared he would lose his life.

Meanwhile, Brière, 37, was detained while traveling in Iran in May 2020 and later sentenced to eight years in prison for alleged espionage.

He was later acquitted by an appeals court, but remained in prison, a situation called “incomprehensible” by his family.

Held like Phelan in the Vakilabad prison in Mashhad, Brière also went on hunger strike to protest his conditions.

Four more French citizens, previously described as “hostages” by the French Foreign Ministry, are still being held in that country.

Paris urges Tehran to release all French citizens

Colonna assured that he spoke this Friday with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, to whom he made clear “France’s determination to guarantee that the other French citizens still detained in Iran also quickly recover their freedom.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed the communication, describing the releases of Brière and Phelan as a “humanitarian action”.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron said the release of the two men represents a “relief” and promised to “continue working for the return of our compatriots still detained in Iran.”

Dublin also expressed “relief” at Phelan’s release.

This article was adapted from its original in English.

with AFP