Two years ago, when I was on vacation in Will, French tourist Benjamin Brière was detained after flying a drone and taking a picture in a desert located near the Turkmenistan-Iran border. The country bans photos on site and does not allow drones to fly over the region. Now, last Tuesday (25), an Iranian court sentenced Brière to 8 years in prisonThe.
Accused of spying for having posted the photo on his Instagram, the 36-year-old Frenchman has always denied any wrongdoing, revealing that he was just traveling and living in a van. As a way of protesting the conditions of treatment in prison, the man has been on a hunger strike since Christmas.
According to the defense lawyer, Briere’s family is concerned about her physical and psychological conditions and asks for intervention from the French government.
The lawyers answer
In an interview with the AFP news agency, lawyer Philippe Valent defined the outcome of the conviction as a “purely political process”. Valent also asked for support from the French government, noting that the family of the arrested tourist wants the French authorities to take immediate measures for their repatriation.
In a statement, Valent said: “Benjamin Brière has been sentenced to eight years in prison on espionage charges and eight months on propaganda charges, following the sham trial he faced.”
“It is unacceptable that Benjamin Briere remains hostage to negotiations by a regime that persists in its desire to arbitrarily detain a French citizen and use him as a bargaining chip.”
In addition, Iranian lawyer Saeid Dehghan, who also defends Brière, said his client was shocked by the sentence and that he will appeal against the decision of the country’s court.
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