03 June 2021 :
Iran indicts French tourist Benjamin Berier on espionage charges
Iranian authorities indicted a French tourist on charges of spying and spreading propaganda against the system, his lawyer said Sunday. It was the latest in a series of cases against foreigners amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West. Benjamin Berier was arrested in May last year after taking pictures in a desert area where photography is prohibited and asking questions “in the media” about Iran’s obligatory Islamic headscarf for women. Under Iranian law, a spying conviction can bring up to 10 years in prison and a conviction on a charge of spreading propaganda against the system can be punishable by three months to a year. Berier’s indictment was handed up by the justice department in the northeastern city of Mashahd. It wasn't immediately clear when his trial would take place. Arrests of foreigners in Iran -- especially dual nationals, who are often accused of espionage -- have multiplied since former US president Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed harsh sanctions against Tehran. Rights groups accuse hard-liners in Iran’s security agencies of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips for money or influence in negotiations with the West. Tehran denies it, but there have been prisoner exchanges in the past. Last year, Iran and France swapped French researcher Roland Marchal for Iranian engineer Jalal Ruhollahnejad. In March, prominent British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe reappeared in a Tehran court to face similar accusations of spreading propaganda after completing a five-year prison sentence. She remains in limbo in Iran awaiting a verdict, unable to return to London. The cases come as Iran escalates pressure on the United States and European powers, including France and Britain, to grant badly needed relief from sanctions.
https://apnews.com/article/europe-middle-east-iran-lifestyle-travel-f9c2b482d9b339f4888e14886a27a994
