Benjamin BRIERE, a young French national detained in Iran since May 2020 and who had started a hunger strike on Christmas Day, has just learned of his conviction by the Revolutionary Court for acts of espionage and propaganda against the Iranian regime.

Benjamin was sentenced to 8 years in prison for espionage and 8 months in prison for propaganda.

This conviction is the result of a purely political process and the result of a mechanism clearly useful to the Iranian regime, devoid of any foundation.

He obviously did not – and never – benefited from a form of fair trial in front of impartial judges. As a reminder, he had no right to defend himself, no access to the elements of the accusation, no possibility of preparing and presenting a defense before the judges of the revolutionary court.

Increasingly weakened by the hunger strike started a month ago, we are alarmed by his physical and psychological state of health, especially at the announcement of this verdict.

We are now appealing to the French authorities to take immediate action to allow his repatriation, Benjamin being exhausted.

The sentence pronounced cannot be understood as the result of a judicial process and it is not tolerable that Benjamin remains hostage to negotiations on the part of a regime which perseveres in its desire for the arbitrary detention of a French citizen just to make it a bargaining chip.

Benjamin disputes even more vigorously today the accusations that led to this unfair "decision" from the Iranian authorities and urges the French authorities to finally put an end to this nightmare.

In the meantime, you can continue to spread his story by sharing this petition with this link : Change.org/FreeBenjamin. Your support means a lot to Benjamin, his family and his friends. Many thank.