Paris: Two French nationals, Bernard Phelan and Benjamin Briere, who were held captive in Iran, are now free, according to President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.
As a result of Tehran's detention of seven French nationals, which Paris has characterised as arbitrary arrests akin to state hostage-taking, relations between France and Iran have deteriorated recently.
Both men are currently travelling to France, according to a separate statement from France's foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, who also noted that she spoke with her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, on Friday morning.
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According to his family, Franco-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison earlier this year for "providing information to another country" despite being in poor health.
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Since May 2020, when he was detained after using a remote-controlled mini helicopter to capture aerial or moving images close to the Turkmenistan–Iran border, Benjamin Briere had been detained in Iran. He was found guilty of spying and received an 8-year prison term from an Iranian court in March.
In a tweet, Macron stated, "We will continue to work towards the return of those of our fellow citizens who are still detained in Iran."
