Iranian Suspected of Espionage in France: “I fear his arrest is political”
It is the case that is poisoning relations between France and Iran. On June 3rd, an Iranian national was arrested by French police in Dijon and placed in administrative detention in the city of Metz. Named Bashir Biazar, this former official of Iranian state radio and television, who has been living in France for two and a half years with his wife and two children, is the subject of a ministerial deportation order described as an “absolute emergency”.
Considered by the Ministry of the Interior to be an “Iranian agent of influence connected to the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic”, this 41-year-old man, openly pro-Palestinian, remains in detention despite active campaigning by Iranian authorities to secure his release. His French lawyer, Me Rachid Lemoudaa, answers questions from Le Point.
Le Point: How is Bashir Biazar doing after three weeks of detention? Me Rachid Lemoudaa is a lawyer at the Béziers bar association.
Me Rachid Lemoudaa: He is doing very, very badly and has mentioned starting a hunger strike. But what shocks me even more is that Mr. Biazar was someone who was in France legally as he had a residence permit issued by the French authorities. He was accompanying his wife, a researcher working on her doctoral thesis. So he is not someone trying to remain irregularly in France.
This situation has sparked concerns about political motives behind Bashir Biazar’s arrest as he was legally residing in France with his family and had no apparent reasons to be targeted in such a manner. The case highlights the delicate balance between national security and individual rights, raising questions about the legal process and the treatment of foreign nationals in France.