Benjamin Brière and Bernard Phelan released

Two skinny men. Traces of infusion on the arm, but with a smile on their lips, the first images of the two liberated Frenchmen are a far cry from their vigorous faces of a few years ago. Detention in Iran considerably weakened Benjamin Brière and Bernard Phelan. They set foot on French territory on the evening of Friday May 12, far from the cameras. Both men were immediately taken to ambulances. A few hours earlier, in front of the Quai d’Orsay, the sister of Benjamin Brière had trouble hiding her emotion. “My parents broke down in tears. It’s the end of a huge fight, of torture”summarizes Blandine Brière.

Four other French people are still imprisoned

At 37, Benjamin Brière has just spent three years in arbitrary prison. The inveterate traveler, who had gone on an adventure by van through Europe to Iran, was arrested in May 2020 for taking drone photos in a natural park. He was charged with espionage, despite his protests.

Huge relief also from the family of Bernard Phelan, a 64-year-old Franco-Irish, whose health is very fragile. He was traveling as a tour operator consultant. He was detained for 200 days, officially for passing information to the enemy. France considered them hostages of the state. Two French people are now free, but four are still imprisoned, for opaque reasons, like Louis Arnaud, a 35-year-old tourist.