French citizen charged with espionage in Iran

Mar 15, 2021

A French tourist in Iran has been charged with espionage. He is one of several foreigners incarcerated in Iran on contested grounds.

Benjamin Briere was charged with espionage and “propaganda against the system,” one of his lawyers told Reuters on Monday. The French national was first arrested last year after flying a remote control helicopter with camera capabilities in the desert near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. He is in good health and in contact with French consular officials. Briere is currently in the Vakilabad prison in Mashhad and faces several years in prison, according to the outlet.

Briere is the latest in a series of legal cases involving foreigners in Iran who have been arrested for spying and other crimes. Some of the charges in these cases have been disputed by foreign governments and rights groups. This month, Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was freed from house arrest after five years. She was accused of plotting to topple the government. However, she now faces new charges in court. The British government has called for her immediate and full release. Iran does not recognize dual nationality.

In November, Australian-British professor Kylie Moore-Gilbert was freed from prison. She was arrested in 2018 for espionage, which she continues to deny.

Briere’s family said he was only taking pictures of his trip and denied the charges against him, according to Reuters.

The French government has protested Iran’s treatment of its citizens in the country before. In September, France summoned the Iranian ambassador over the issue.

Briere is not the only French citizen who has faced charges in Iran recently. Iranian-French anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah was released to her family with an electronic bracelet in October. She was convicted on national security charges last year.