France welcomes Iran's release of two detained citizens as four remain

PARIS — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced Friday that two French prisoners detained in the northeast of Iran, Benjamin Briere and Bernard Phelan, were released from jail and on their way back to France. 

"[Both] were given medical care upon their release from prison. I am delighted that they will soon be able to meet their loved ones in Paris," said Colonna. "Throughout their detention in Mashhad prison, our compatriots and their loved ones have benefited from the permanent support of our diplomacy, in particular our embassy in Tehran and the crisis and support center of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs."

Colonna said she had spoken Friday morning with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, thanking him for the release of the two French nationals. "I reiterated France's determination to ensure that the other French citizens still held in Iran also regain their full freedom quickly and enjoy their right to consular protection," she said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed he had spoken with Colonna over the phone Friday, describing the release of the two French nationals as "humanitarian action."

Briere, 38, was arrested in May 2020 after flying a drone in a natural reserve in Iran. He was convicted of espionage and propaganda and sentenced to eight years in prison. Briere had been on hunger strike for several weeks. His sister said recently that he had suffered emotional and psychological torture. 

Phelan, 64, is a French-Irish dual national and a Paris-based tourism consultant. He was arrested in October 2022 and charged with undermining national security for allegedly taking pictures of security agents and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Protesting his detention, Phelan went on hunger strike last January, but stopped at the request of his family, who feared for his life. His family warned recently that his health had deteriorated considerably in detention. 

Both men have always maintained their innocence. 

Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin confirmed Phelan's release today. He said in a statement, "This is a great relief to his family. I am deeply appreciative of the hard work done in the background by our team working with our French colleagues."

Four more French citizens are still being held in prison by Iran. Before Friday’s conversation, Colonna had last spoken with her Iranian counterpart on April 6, when both of them were in Beijing. She had repeatedly called for the release of all French prisoners in Iran. 

Last Friday, dual Iranian-Swedish national Habib Chaab, convicted of leading the Arab separatist group Harakat al-Nidal (the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz), was executed in Tehran. Last January, Iran executed Iranian-British dual national Alireza Akbari, convicted of spying for the United Kingdom. German-Iranian dual national Jamshid Sharmahd, convicted of involvement in a 2008 deadly bomb attack at a mosque in Shiraz, was sentenced to death in late April. The German government is campaigning to stop his execution.