French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna stressed on Tuesday that her country did not pay anything in exchange for the release of Frenchman Benjamin Briere and Franco-Irish Bernard Phelan, who had both been prisoners in Iran. Tehran, for its part, explained it took the initiative to release them for “humanitarian reasons” as they were both suffering from illness. They were freed from a prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad on May 12. Asked by a France 2 reporter whether there had been any quid pro quo to the release, Colonna said: “There was none.”
International | Dozens of supporters of two French nationals detained last year in Iran demanded their release in Paris Sunday after Tehran freed two fellow
PARIS The family of a Frenchman released this week after he had been jailed by Iran said on Saturday he was “relieved” to be back in France.On Friday, Benjamin Briere, whose ordeal in Iran lasted two years, and French-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan, held since October, were freed from their prison in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, the French foreign ministry said.There had
Dozens of supporters of two French nationals detained last year in Iran demanded their release in Paris Sunday after Tehran freed two fellow citizens who had been on hunger strike.
Paris - Dozens of supporters of two French nationals detained last year in Iran demanded their release in Paris Sunday after Tehran freed two fellow cit