Iran jails ‘ailing’ Irish man on spy charges

AN IRISH man in failing health has been sentenced to six years in prison in Iran on spying charges.

Bernard Phelan, who has dual French citizenship, was accused of taking photographs of police officers and a burnt-out mosque during anti-government protests in Mashhad on Oct 3. His sister, Caroline Massé-phelan, said: “He was hauled off the road, bag over his head,” describing him as being “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

The 64-year-old Paris-based travel consultant, who promoted Iran as a tourist destination, has a heart condition and bone and eyesight issues.

Ms Massé-phelan said her brother, born in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, had ended his hunger strike but the authorities were refusing to release him on humanitarian grounds. “Bernard is ailing now and he’s on death watch. Time is running out,” she said.

She has urged Ireland not to go ahead with plans to reopen an embassy in Iran while Mr Phelan is in jail. “How can we normalise any communication with Iran while they have locked up an innocent Irish citizen?” she said.

The French foreign affairs service said it was engaging with Tehran.