Exclusive; Benjamin Brier's Sister: We Are Worried About Other Hostages

The sister of Benjamin Brier, the French tourist who was released from Iran and has returned to France, says her brother is in recovery. Blandine Brier stated on Wednesday, May 17, to the Persian section of Voice of America that her brother is thinking about other French and European hostages still in Iran. Blandine Brier said, "Benjamin is relatively well. He is very pleased and happy to have regained his freedom and returned to France. He needs to take care of himself right now. He is in the hospital and will stay there for a few more weeks to recover mentally and physically, to get better and back on his feet. We are all well and very happy that he is back." She added, "His doctors have not said anything specific about his condition. He is almost well. Recovery takes time, but there is no serious problem at the moment. He just needs to rest. His mind is still spinning between Mashhad and Paris. Mentally, returning to life and facing the real world after three years of captivity is difficult for him." Blandine Brier said, "We have a lot of opportunities to talk and spend a lot of time together in the hospital, and we can speak freely and say whatever we want. There are no restrictions on our conversation. Since he came to France, we have spent a lot of time together." She said, "The first thing he mentioned was about other prisoners who are still in Iran. Four French citizens are still in Iran, and 15 European citizens are still hostages in Iran. The first thought he had when he returned to France was of them; we are also thinking of them. We know that the struggle is not over for them and us, and we will stand by them until everyone can return home like Benjamin and Bernard." Blandine Brier added, "When we found out, it was a phone call from the French Foreign Ministry informing us that he had been released. I cannot provide more details." She also said, "I want to add that we must all talk about the four citizens who are still in prison. Our thoughts are with the four French hostages who are still in Iran, and we are with their families, and we must fight to bring them home too." Among other foreign or dual-national prisoners in Iran are Kamran Ghaderi and Masoud Mosahab, Austrian-Iranian citizens, Nahid Taghavi, a German-Iranian citizen, Mehran Raouf, a British-Iranian citizen, and Ahmadreza Jalali, a Swedish-Iranian citizen. Additionally, Morad Tahbaz, a triple-national Iranian-American-British citizen, Siamak Namazi and Emad Sharqi, Iranian-American citizens, and Shahab Dalili, an Iranian citizen with permanent residency in the U.S., are also imprisoned.