Iran releases 2 imprisoned French citizens, Paris says

Iran has released two French citizens who had been imprisoned in unrelated cases, sending them back to Paris, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Friday.

Benjamin Brier, who was arrested in 2020, and Bernard Phelan, who was arrested last October, were "on their way to France," Colonna said.

The pair are just two of several foreign nationals, including four more French citizens, imprisoned in Iran, who campaigners say are being held as hostages. 

French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the news of the duo's release, writing on Twitter: "Free, finally. Benjamin Briere and Bernard Phelan can reunite with their loved ones. It's a relief."

Why were Briere and Phelan arrested?

Briere was arrested while traveling through Iran after he was caught taking photos with a drone in a no-go zone.

The 37-year-old was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage, but this ruling was later overturned by an appeals court which said he had merely been a tourist.

Nevertheless, he remained held in prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad in what his family described as an "incomprehensible" situation.

Phelan, who also holds Irish citizenship, was arrested and sentenced to six and a half years after taking photos of a burned Mosque during the anti-regime protests that have rocked Iran since September last year.

Phelan's family said that the 64-year-old's health had deteriorated in prison. They had convinced him to cancel his plan to go on a hunger strike, fearing he would die.

"The last seven months have been a very difficult ordeal for Bernard and for his family and I am pleased and relieved that this is now at an end," Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said after Phelan's release.

Why is Iran imprisoning foreigners?

French Foreign Minister Colonna said she had spoken to her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian earlier on Friday, saying she had emphasized "France's determination to ensure that the other French citizens still detained in Iran also rapidly regain their full freedom."

"We will continue to work for the return of our compatriots still detained in Iran," Macron said.

For its part, Iran described the release of Briere and Phelan as a "humanitarian action."

But campaigners have said that Iran's practice of imprisoning foreigners is an intentional ploy to increase pressure and extract concessions from Western powers.

Talks aimed at restarting a 2015 deal that would see Iran reduce its nuclear program in exchange for eased sanctions have failed to progress. The deal fell apart in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out.

Tensions between Iran and the West have increased amid accusations that Iran has been sending weapons to Russia. Western countries have also expressed support for the widespread anti-regime protests in Iran, further souring their relationship with Iranian political leaders.  

ab/wd (AFP, AP)