Iran jails French man for eight years on spying charges
2 years, 10 months ago

Iran jails French man for eight years on spying charges

Al Jazeera  

Benjamin Briere was also given an additional eight-month sentence for propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system. A court in Iran has sentenced a French man to eight years in jail on spying charges, his Paris-based lawyer said, denouncing his trial as a sham and the accusations as baseless. Currently on hunger strike, he was also given an additional eight-month sentence for propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system, his lawyer Philippe Valent said in a statement on Tuesday. Briere’s trial came as the United States and parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, including France, tried to revive the pact after then-US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the agreement in 2018. “It is not tolerable that Benjamin Briere is being held a hostage to negotiations by a regime which keeps a French citizen arbitrarily detained merely to use him as currency in an exchange,” Valent added.

France Iran French Iranian Briere Benjamin Briere  charges  france  spying  arrested  trial  sentence  french  briere  irans  held  iran  man  jails  jail

History of this topic

Iranian German Jamshid Sharmahd, who lived in U.S., executed in Iran
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Iranian German Jamshid Sharmahd, who lived in U.S., executed in Iran

LA Times  

Iranian German national and U.S. resident Jamshid Sharmahd attends his trial at the Revolutionary Court, in Tehran, Iran, in 2022. Iranian German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces, has been executed in Iran after being convicted on terror charges disputed by his family, the country’s judiciary reported Monday. Iran also accused Sharmahd …

British father released from Iranian jail after US prisoner swap
1 year, 3 months ago

British father released from Iranian jail after US prisoner swap

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Tahbaz, wearing a blue shirt, steps down onto the …

Who are the five American prisoners freed in the Iran-US prisoner swap?
1 year, 3 months ago

Who are the five American prisoners freed in the Iran-US prisoner swap?

Al Jazeera  

Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz are among US prisoners being released in deal, White House confirms. Five US citizens have been flown out of Iran as part of a widely anticipated prisoner swap deal between Washington and Tehran, a United States official confirmed. The White House has named three of the prisoners, who were released to house arrest …

Iran-US prisoner swap under way
1 year, 3 months ago

Iran-US prisoner swap under way

Al Jazeera  

Five American and five Iranian prisoners are being released in addition to Iran’s assets frozen due to US sanctions. Tehran, Iran – Iran has released five American prisoners, moving them to Tehran’s airport for a flight to the Qatari capital, Doha, as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States. The funds were frozen for years in South Korea …

A look at known Iranian-Americans held by Iran as the US seeks a prisoner release deal
1 year, 4 months ago

A look at known Iranian-Americans held by Iran as the US seeks a prisoner release deal

Associated Press  

Iran has transferred five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest, part of a possible deal over billions of dollars of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea. Iran sentenced both Namazi and his father, Baquer Namazi, to 10 years in the country’s notorious Evin Prison on what the U.S. and U.N. say are trumped-up spying charges. Baquer was placed under house …

France says 2 citizens held in Iran freed from prison, on way to Paris
1 year, 7 months ago

France says 2 citizens held in Iran freed from prison, on way to Paris

Associated Press  

PARIS — A French citizen and another holding dual French-Irish nationality have been freed from an Iranian prison, French authorities said Friday, the culmination of a hard-fought effort to bring them home. Benjamin Briere and Bernard Phelan, who both had been held in a prison in Mashhad, in northeast Iran, were heading to Paris, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. “It’s …

Two French citizens leave Iran after release from prison: Paris
1 year, 7 months ago

Two French citizens leave Iran after release from prison: Paris

Al Jazeera  

Tehran says the release of Bernard Phelan and Benjamin Briere, jailed for alleged spying, is a ‘humanitarian action’. Iran has released two French citizens, Bernard Phelan and Benjamin Briere, from a prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months with Tehran’s detentions of six French …

Iran orders death penalty for 'kidnapped' German national
1 year, 10 months ago

Iran orders death penalty for 'kidnapped' German national

The Hindu  

An Iranian court on Tuesday sentenced to death on terror charges an Iranian-German national who supporters say was abducted in the Gulf and forcibly returned to Iran for a show trial. "They kidnapped Jamshid Sharmahd and now they've sentenced him to death after a sham trial," said the head of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam. German …

Jailed in Iran, French 'spy' again goes on hunger strike against torture, open hangings, filthy conditions
1 year, 10 months ago

Jailed in Iran, French 'spy' again goes on hunger strike against torture, open hangings, filthy conditions

Firstpost  

Briere’s France-based attorney Philippe Valent described the spying allegations against him as “fiction” and the trial as “a comedy produced by the Revolutionary Guards,” the part of the Iranian security forces in charge of maintaining the government Paris: A French national Benjamin Briere, who is jailed in Iran on allegations of spying is on a hunger strike for the second …

Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to prison, lashes
1 year, 11 months ago

Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to prison, lashes

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to a lengthy prison term and 74 lashes after convicting him of espionage in a closed-door trial, state media reported Tuesday. The website of Iran’s judiciary said a Revolutionary Court sentenced 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12.5 years in prison for espionage, 12.5 years for collaboration with hostile governments …

Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to prison, 74 lashes for espionage
1 year, 11 months ago

Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to prison, 74 lashes for espionage

Firstpost  

The website of Iran’s judiciary said a Revolutionary Court sentenced 41-yr-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12.5 years in prison for espionage, 12.5 years for collaboration with hostile governments and 12.5 years for money laundering. He was also fined $1 million and sentenced to 2.5 years for smuggling Dubai : Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to a lengthy prison term …

Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to prison and 74 lashes for alleged espionage
1 year, 11 months ago

Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to prison and 74 lashes for alleged espionage

LA Times  

Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to a lengthy prison term and 74 lashes after convicting him of espionage charges in a closed-door trial, state media reported Tuesday. The website of Iran’s judiciary said a Revolutionary Court sentenced 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12½ years in prison for espionage, 12½ years for collaboration with hostile governments and 12½ years for …

Iran executes four accused of working with Israeli intelligence
2 years ago

Iran executes four accused of working with Israeli intelligence

Al Jazeera  

The individuals allegedly received payment in cryptocurrencies to buy weapons and engage in kidnappings. Tehran, Iran – Iran has executed four people and handed prison sentences to three others accused of working with Israeli intelligence. The four individuals – identified as Hossein Ordoukhanzadeh, Shahin Imani Mahmoudabad, Milad Ashrafi Atbatan, and Manouchehr Shahbandi Bojandi – were hanged early on Sunday, according …

France slams Iran for publishing ‘confession’ video of ‘hostages’
2 years, 2 months ago

France slams Iran for publishing ‘confession’ video of ‘hostages’

Al Jazeera  

Paris condemns Tehran for airing a video of a French couple, who say they are spies of French intelligence service. Iran’s state television has aired what it says are “confessions” by a French couple arrested five months ago, a move the French government is condemning as “shameful, revolting and unacceptable”. “Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been arbitrarily detained in …

Siamak Namazi allowed to leave Iran prison for a week
2 years, 2 months ago

Siamak Namazi allowed to leave Iran prison for a week

Al Jazeera  

Iranian-American citizen, who was convicted of spying, released from detention amid reported talks between Iran and the US on prisoner releases. An Iranian-American imprisoned in Iran for nearly seven years on espionage-related charges has been allowed out of Tehran’s Evin prison on a one-week furlough, his lawyer said. Siamak Namazi’s temporary release on Saturday came as his father, former United …

Iran arrests 3rd outspoken filmmaker in escalating crackdown
2 years, 5 months ago

Iran arrests 3rd outspoken filmmaker in escalating crackdown

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has arrested an internationally renowned filmmaker, several newspapers reported Tuesday, the third Iranian director to be locked up in less than a week as the government escalates a crackdown on the country’s celebrated cinema industry. Panahi has won multiple festival awards, including the 2015 Berlin Golden Bear for “Taxi,” a wide-ranging meditation on poverty, …

French national jailed in Iran since 2020 goes on hunger strike
2 years, 11 months ago

French national jailed in Iran since 2020 goes on hunger strike

Al Jazeera  

Benjamin Briere, 36, is being detained over alleged spying and propaganda against Iran – charges he rejects as fabricated. A French man jailed in Iran for more than 18 months on espionage charges he rejects as fabricated has begun a hunger strike to protest against his continued detention, his lawyer and family say. Benjamin Briere, 36, was arrested in May …

Iran wants nationals freed from US jails amid nuclear talks
3 years, 7 months ago

Iran wants nationals freed from US jails amid nuclear talks

Associated Press  

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Tuesday it was seeking the release of all Iranian prisoners held in the U.S. amid talks in Vienna meant to bring Tehran and Washington back into the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei also hinted that another exchange of prisoners between Iran and America was possible, saying that “the idea …

Zaghari-Ratcliffe handed another prison sentence in Iran
3 years, 7 months ago

Zaghari-Ratcliffe handed another prison sentence in Iran

Al Jazeera  

British-Iranian national, who has already served five years in prison, handed an extra year after being found guilty of ‘propaganda’. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced to another year in an Iranian jail, a development that prompted an instant backlash from the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “Nazanin Zaghari was sentenced to one year in prison and a one-year ban …

Lawyer: Iran charges detained French tourist with spying
3 years, 9 months ago

Lawyer: Iran charges detained French tourist with spying

Associated Press  

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has charged a French tourist with spying and “spreading propaganda against the system,” his lawyer said Monday, the latest in a series of cases against foreigners at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West. Benjamin Berier was arrested some 10 months ago after taking pictures in a desert area where photography is prohibited …

Iran charges detained French tourist with spying: Lawyer
3 years, 9 months ago

Iran charges detained French tourist with spying: Lawyer

Al Jazeera  

Iran has charged a French tourist with spying and “spreading propaganda against the system,” his lawyer said, the latest in a series of cases against foreigners at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West. “On Sunday, he was charged with two counts of espionage and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” Dehghan told Reuters news agency on Monday, …

Lawyer: French tourist detained in Iran on security charges
3 years, 9 months ago

Lawyer: French tourist detained in Iran on security charges

Associated Press  

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has detained a French tourist for nine months, his lawyer said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of detentions of foreigners at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West. The detainee’s lawyer, Saeed Dehghan, described the charges against the French tourist held in Iran as “paradoxical,” involving murky security-related accusations. An official …

Iran sentences Iranian-American to prison on spying charges
3 years, 10 months ago

Iran sentences Iranian-American to prison on spying charges

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian-American has been sentenced by Iran to 10 years in prison on spying charges, despite his family alleging he never had a trial or an opportunity to defend himself. A family spokesman Tuesday confirmed the sentencing of Emad Shargi, the latest dual national to be held in Iran amid tensions with the West. Asked …

Iranian-French academic Fariba Adelkhah temporarily freed
4 years, 2 months ago

Iranian-French academic Fariba Adelkhah temporarily freed

Al Jazeera  

Jailed over security breaches, Adelkhah will have to wear an ankle bracelet while on furlough. Iran has temporarily released Iranian-French academic Fariba Adelkhah, who has been in prison over national security charges, according to her lawyer. In June, the Iranian judiciary’s official Mizan news agency quoted a spokesman as saying that “the appeals court has upheld Adelkhah’s five-year jail sentence. …

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