French Drone Tourist in Iran ‘Facing Spy Charges’

FRENCH drone tourist in Iran is ‘facing spy charges.’

French drone pilot Benjamin Briere, has so far been detained in Iran for 10 months, and according to his lawyer the tourist is said be facing two charges of ‘spying and propaganda against the system.’

Benjamin aged 35, was detained in Iran after he flew a drone near to the border of Iran and Turkmenistan. The Frenchman could be facing a very long prison sentence if he is found guilty according to lawyer Saeid Dehghan.

Currently nuclear tensions are rising between Iran, the US and various European countries.

Benjamin is said to be in good health and is being held in the city of Mashhad’s jail. Mr Dehghan has explained that the French drone pilot is facing spying charges due to the area that he chose to take photos in. He said that, “his spying charges [are] because of taking pictures in forbidden areas.”

The lawyer went on to explain that the “propaganda against the system” charge had come about after Benjamin took to social media and posted a comment which said that unlike other Islamic countries “the hijab is mandatory” in Iran.

Mr Dehghan went on to add that, “My colleagues and I believe that these charges are false and baseless, but we have to wait for the judge to conduct a full investigation in the next few days and announce his verdict.”

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