Travel

Briere was reportedly flying a drone near the Iran-Turkmenistan border, last May. Photo / Unsplash

Iranian authorities indicted a French tourist on charges of spying and spreading propaganda against the system, his lawyer said on Sunday.

This is the latest in a series of cases against foreign visitors amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West.

Benjamin Briere was arrested in May last year after flying a drone and taking photos 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.

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Source: www.nzherald.co.nz