The sister of Bernard Phelan, a French-Irish citizen detained in Iran, who suspended his hunger strike last month, said that her brother’s health was deteriorating, she told AFP on Tuesday.
Phelan was arrested in October while on a trip as part of his consulting activities in Iran for a travel company. He is being held by the authorities in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.
His vision began to deteriorate, his sister, Caroline Mass-Phelan, said in a statement.
In the Islamic Republic, he is accused of spreading anti-regime propaganda, which he denies.
Phelan, 64, suspended his hunger and drink strike in January, at the request of his family.
“His health is deteriorating,” his sister said in the statement sent to AFP. She added, “He can no longer see clearly” after a corneal operation last year.
She said he fell on Thursday when his knee sprained when he got out of bed, adding that “he is suffering” and that he was not given a cane or crutches.
It is unfortunate that her brother’s name was not on the list of tens of thousands of people whom Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised to release in amnesties, she said.
On the other hand, the Frenchman Benjamin Brier, who is being held in the same prison, announced a hunger strike for the second time since his arrest in May 2020, according to his sister and his lawyer on Monday.
Breyer, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage, had carried out a hunger strike at the end of December 2021.
Iran is holding seven French nationals and more than a dozen other foreigners. Activists say Iran is holding them hostage to extract concessions from the West.
