Two French Nationals Jailed in Iran Released

Iranian authorities have released two French citizens jailed in separate cases and they are both now returning to France, French officials say.

Bernard Phélan , who also holds Irish nationality, and Benjamin Brière were freed from their prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad and are "on their way to France," Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.

"Free at last. Benjamin Brière and Bernard Phélan will join their loved ones. It is a relief. I welcome their release. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this outcome. We will continue to act for the return of our compatriots still detained in Iran," President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

Brière, 37, was arrested in May 2020 for taking "photographs of prohibited areas" with a drone and sentenced to eight years in prison for "espionage."

Phélan, 64, is a Paris-based travel consultant. He was arrested in October 2022 while traveling in Iran, as anti-government protests spread across the country. The man was initially sentenced to three and a half years in prison for “providing information to an enemy country,” but the sentence was later increased to six and a half years.

Earlier on May 12, the twitter account of Iran’s embassy in Dublin announced the release of Phélan, saying, "Constructive diplomatic engagement between Iran and Ireland has resulted in pardoning and releasing of the Irish citizen on consular and humanitarian grounds."

Paris has repeatedly called on the Islamic Republic to free the two men and four other French nationals held in Iran, calling their detention unfounded.

Western governments have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage for the sole purpose of using them in prisoner swaps or as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.

Many European countries have urged their nationals not to travel to Iran, warning that they face the risk of arbitrary arrest or unfair trial.