An Iranian court on Tuesday sentenced French national Benjamin Briere to eight years in prison on spying charges, his Paris-based lawyer said, describing the trial as a politically motivated sham and his client as a "bargaining chip."
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Benjamin Briere, 36, is the only Western detainee known to be currently held in Iran who does not also hold an Iranian passport.
He was also given an additional eight-month sentence for propaganda against Iran's Islamic system, his lawyer Philippe Valent said in a statement.
Briere was arrested in May 2020 after taking pictures in a national park with a recreational drone.
Slamming the trial, which began on Thursday, as a "masquerade", Briere's lawyer said that Briere "did not have a fair trial in front of impartial judges" and noted he had not been allowed to access the full indictment against him.
Briere is one of more than a dozen Western citizens held in Iran, described as hostages by activists who say they are innocent of any crime and detained at the behest of the powerful Revolutionary Guards to extract concessions from the West.
