27 Dec 2021; MEMO: Benjamin Briere, a French tourist jailed in Iran on spying charges since spring 2020, has begun a hunger strike, his lawyer and sister said in a statement on Monday, reports Reuters.
French authorities remain in close contact with Briere, visiting him on December 21 and contacting him on Monday, a French foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Briere has been held since May 2020 when he was arrested after flying a helicam – a remote-controlled mini helicopter – in the desert near the Turkmenistan-Iran border, and charged with espionage and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.
"The feeling of abandonment – and distress – has led Benjamin Briere to embark on a hunger strike in order to alert Iranian and French authorities to the absurdity of his detention," his sister Blandine Briere and lawyer Philippe Valent said in an emailed statement.
