French man held in Iran on trial for 'espionage': lawyer
- "Benjamin Briere's defence plea for the two counts of espionage and propaganda against the system has taken place," wrote Dehghan.
TEHRAN: Iran has put on trial a French man detained since early last year on espionage charges, lawyer Saeid Dehghan wrote on Twitter Monday, naming the detainee as Benjamin Briere.
The man, whose detention since May 2020 has been confirmed by the French foreign ministry, also faces charges of spreading "propaganda against the system" of the Islamic republic, wrote Dehghan.
"Benjamin Briere's defence plea for the two counts of espionage and propaganda against the system has taken place," wrote Dehghan.
"Charge of espionage [for] photographs of prohibited areas by this French tourist," the lawyer added in telegraphic style, adding that Briere was facing "contradictory and false accusations".
Dehghan -- who also represents the Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, currently under house arrest in Tehran -- could not immediately be reached for comment or to confirm that he was representing Briere in court.
The lawyer's tweet was accompanied by a photo of a young bearded man in an arid mountainous area, and another showing what appeared to be the same man jumping next to a motor home stopped on a salt lake.
Briere was accused of "propaganda" for having "asked the question [on social networks] why the Islamic veil is 'mandatory' in the Islamic Republic but 'optional' in other Muslim countries," wrote Dehghan.
The French foreign ministry confirmed on February 24 the detention of a Frenchman in Iran, who had been arrested in May 2020 and detained since then without explanation, according to Le Point weekly.
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