French-Irish National Jailed in Iran “Risks Going Blind,” Sister Says

The sister of a French-Irish national who has been incarcerated in Iran for half a year is calling for his immediate release, saying he is in “poor” physical condition and risks losing his vision.

Bernard Phélan sends text messages to his family every week, but his sister Caroline told IranWire that they are often difficult to decipher.

“Bernard is anxious, apprehensive and disappointed, with healthcare being repeatedly denied. He has heart and bone ailments, and he risks going blind,” she said.

The sister said that the 64-year-old man is afflicted by arthritis, has a heart condition and underwent eye surgery just one month before traveling to Iran.

Phélan is being held in Mashhad’s Vakil Abad prison. He is among seven French nationals currently being held in Iran.

Western governments have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage for the sole purpose of using them in prisoner swaps or as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.

Phélan, a Paris-based travel consultant, was arrested on October 3 while travelling in Iran, as anti-government protests spread across Iran. His family learned about his arrest two weeks later.

The authorities kept him in solitary confinement for 10 days, subjecting him to interrogations in French and English, before charging him with various offences. First, he was accused of sending photos to The Guardian newspaper, then of propagandizing against the Islamic Republic and finally of espionage.

On November 20, Phélan was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, but the judge indicated that he might be eligible for pardon due to his age and ailments. However, the sentence was later increased to six and a half years.

"We couldn't understand what happened within a week,” his sister said.

“The Iranian ambassador wrote to my father, telling us to have faith in Iran's judicial system and be patient…But suddenly, three years were added to Bernard's sentence, and his lawyer wasn’t even allowed to meet him or attend the court proceedings," she added.

On April 3, which marked six months since Phélan’s arrest, a table and a chair were brought to his cell. It was only on his father's 97th birthday in November that Bernard was allowed to call him for the first time.

"My brother is being held hostage in Iran, but we don't even know why,” Caroline Phélan said.

“Why was he taken from the street, put in a van and then imprisoned? Bernard is just a tourist. He has devoted his life to the tourism industry."