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A protester in Paris stands up for Benjamin Brière (pictured January 8)
Photo: Adrienne Surprenant/AP
A revolutionary court in Iran has found a Frenchman held in the country guilty of alleged espionage and propaganda against the political leadership.
Benjamin Brière was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Reuters news agency, and the AFP news agency, citing lawyer Philippe Valent, even reported a prison sentence of eight years and eight months.
Brière did not receive a fair trial before impartial judges, criticized lawyer Valent.
"He had no right to a defense, no access to the charges and no opportunity to prepare and present a defense." Brière will appeal against this.
Paris Foreign Ministry calls verdict "unacceptable"
The family is appealing to the French authorities to ensure that Brières is returned to France.
The Foreign Ministry in Paris described the conviction, "which cannot be justified by anything," as "unacceptable."
France had warned Tehran in the past that dealing with detained French citizens could worsen relations between the two states.
According to his family, the 36-year-old was traveling as a tourist in a converted camper van in Iran in spring 2020 when he was accused of "photographing prohibited areas".
He took pictures with a drone in a nature reserve.
Brière is being held in Wakilabad prison in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.
The detainee's sister, Blandine Brière, described her brother as a "political hostage".
"It is clear that this is a political process that is useful for Iran and sends a message to the French government," she said.
At the end of December, Blandine Brière announced that her brother had gone on a hunger strike to protest the prison conditions.
Attorney Valent expressed concern on Tuesday about his client's poor health.
More than a dozen Western citizens are being held in Iran.
Most of them have dual citizenship.
At the beginning of January, Iran again arrested the French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2020.
France demanded their immediate release.
In recent years, Iran has repeatedly exchanged prisoners with other countries.
Brière is the only known Western prisoner being held in Iran who does not have an Iranian passport.
Apr/AFP/Reuters