Two French citizens held in Iran 'released and returning to France'

Both Bernard Phelan and Benjamin Briere had staged hunger strikes while in prison

Bernard Phelan, left, and Benjamin Briere. AFP

Iran on Friday released two French citizens jailed in separate cases and both are returning to France, officials in Paris said.

Bernard Phelan, who also holds Irish nationality, and Benjamin Briere were freed from their prison in the north-eastern city of Mashhad and received immediate medical care, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.

“I am delighted that they will soon be able to find their loved ones in Paris,” Ms Colonna said in a statement on Friday.

Iran confirmed the release of the two men, who had been held on spying charges they denied. Both had staged hunger strikes while in prison.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the two men were “finally free”.

“It is a relief. I welcome their release,” he said.

Mr Briere was handed an eight-year jail term in 2022, accused of spying and “propaganda against the system”.

His lawyer said the charges were baseless and came after Mr Briere was arrested while flying a drone in the desert near the Turkmenistan-Iran border.

The detention of Mr Phelan for inciting propaganda came during mass anti-regime protests that erupted in Iran last autumn.

He was later sentenced to six and a half years for providing information to an enemy state, a charge he denied. Mr Phelan's family had expressed fears for his health.

Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said he had “continually stressed the urgency of Mr Phelan’s release on humanitarian grounds”.

He said the months since Mr Phelan's arrest had been a “very difficult ordeal for Bernard and for his family”.

“I am pleased and relieved that this is now at an end,” he said.

The release of the two men followed direct talks between Ms Colonna and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

The foreign ministry in Tehran called their release a “humanitarian action”.

Iran has frequently been accused of taking western citizens hostage to use as political bargaining chips.

Britain settled a historic £400 million ($500.8 million) debt to Iran during negotiations for the release of dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe last year.

Mr Macron said France “will continue to act to return our fellow citizens who are still detained in Iran.”

Cecile Kohler, a teacher, and her partner Jacques Paris were arrested in May last year and remain in prison on espionage charges their family denies.

Louis Arnaud, described by his family as an innocent traveller, was arrested in September. Another French citizen is held, according to Paris, but has never been named.