Justice
Article reserved for subscribers
Supporters of the Frenchman, arrested while sightseeing in the country, were shocked and angry after the very heavy sentence handed down by a revolutionary court on Tuesday.
“Completely down and angry.” Blandine Brière, sister of Benjamin, detained in Iran, cannot believe the severity of the sentence pronounced against him on Tuesday by a revolutionary court in the east of the country: eight years in prison. The judges found him guilty of “spying”, and also imposed an additional eight months on him for “propaganda” against the regime, a catch-all incrimination often used in this type of case.
The Frenchman’s lawyer, Me Philippe Valent, castigated “a charade of trial”. The hearing was held on January 20 behind closed doors, but filmed. “Benjamin Brière has obviously not – nor ever – benefited from a form of fair trial before impartial judges. 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”, recalled the lawyer.
Detained for more than a year and a half, the 36-year-old Frenchman began a hunger strike at the end of December. “He is very, very weakened physically and psychologically, testifies his sister. He is very determined in what he does, he is capable of putting his life in danger. She rages against the decision rendered by the court: “It’s clear…