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Ireland, France Coordinate to Free Dual National Jailed in Iran

Bernard Phelan (Twitter)
Bernard Phelan (Twitter)
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Ireland, France Coordinate to Free Dual National Jailed in Iran

Bernard Phelan (Twitter)
Bernard Phelan (Twitter)

Authorities in Dublin are working closely with France to free Bernard Phelan, an Irish-French national, who was jailed in Iran in October, Ireland’s foreign ministry confirmed on Friday.

Phelan, a Paris-based tourism consultant, is being held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad city on multiple charges, including disseminating anti-regime propaganda and taking pictures of security services.

Phelan has denied all the charges.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and has been providing consular assistance in close coordination with France since the outset,” a spokesperson for the department told AFP.

“The case has also been raised directly with the Iranian authorities,” he added, declining to comment on specifics.

Originally from Clonmel in the southern county of Tipperary, Phelan, 64, was travelling through Mashhad in the wake of recent protests against Iran’s clerical government when he was arrested.

According to the Irish Times, he began a hunger strike at the start of the year.

His family has said they are concerned for the health of the tour operator who suffers from a heart condition, explaining that as well as refusing food he has also stopped taking his medication.

His sister, Caroline Masse-Phelan, has highlighted the cramped and cold conditions her brother has been forced to endure in Vakilabad Prison.

She believes he has been detained in a political dispute between Paris and Tehran and was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Phelan is one of dozens of Western nationals held in Iran, described by activists as hostages innocent of any crime and detained at the behest of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to use as leverage against Western powers.

The individuals have been jailed against the backdrop of talks on reviving a 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

Nationals of all three European powers involved in the talks on the Iranian nuclear program -- Britain, France and Germany -- are among the foreigners being held.

Since September 16, Iran has been rocked by a wave of anti-regime protests that have further strained ties between Tehran and the West and risk limiting the scope for diplomacy with Iran.

Almost a year ago, an Iranian court sentenced French national Benjamin Briere to eight years in prison on spying charges.

Tehran has insisted all the foreigners held are on the grounds of domestic law but has also expressed readiness for prisoner swaps.

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France’s Mayotte Struggles to Recover as Cyclone Overwhelms Hospitals

This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
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France’s Mayotte Struggles to Recover as Cyclone Overwhelms Hospitals

This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)

One week after its worst cyclone in nearly a century, and a day after a testy presidential visit, France’s impoverished Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte is still grappling with counting the dead, restoring essential services and aiding a beleaguered population.

Cyclone Chido wreaked devastation across the archipelago. Already stretched thin, hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering not only from cyclone-related injuries but also from dehydration, malnutrition and disease.

At Mayotte’s main hospital in the capital, Mamoudzou, doctors faced a cascade of crises.

“We lost 40% of patient rooms, about 50 to 60 beds,” said Dr. Roger Serhal, chief of the obstetrics and gynecology department. “There are so many patients coming to the hospital, and we don’t have space to admit them.”

As Chido battered the archipelago last weekend with 220 kph (136 mph) winds, Serhal and his team delivered three babies, including by cesarean section.

The hospital’s structural damage has forced staff to triage patients, prioritizing the most severe cases. Though the official death toll remains 35, according to the French Interior Ministry on Saturday, the number of seriously injured has risen to 78, with 2,432 others sustaining minor injuries. Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq has warned that any estimates are likely major undercounts “compared to the scale of the disaster.”

Emergency aid was being delivered by air and sea. Since the cyclone, 31 tons of food and 108 tons of water have arrived, with an additional 1.6 million liters of water expected Monday aboard a container ship, according to the Interior Ministry.

The hospital is operating at 50% capacity, while 109 patients have been evacuated to mainland France for urgent care. Three advanced medical posts have been established on Grande-Terre, Mayotte’s main island, to address the surge in need.

The storm has devastated entire neighborhoods. Many people ignored warnings, thinking the storm wouldn’t be so extreme. Even worse, many migrants avoided shelters out of fear of deportation, authorities said, adding there could be hundreds or possibly thousands of fatalities.

Doctors fear that the lack of clean water and electricity — compounded by overcrowded living conditions — is setting the stage for a health crisis. “Patients are coming because their illnesses are untreated, there’s no water, and no electricity. We’re concerned about epidemics, like the cholera outbreak we stopped just months ago,” said Dr. Vincent Gilles, the hospital’s emergency medical director.

The hospital staff continues to work tirelessly, but resources are running dangerously low. “If we have rain it will be catastrophic,” Serhal said.

Among the patients struggling to recover is Saindou Mohamadi, 54, who fractured his arm and sprained his ankle during the storm that left his home completely destroyed.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mohamadi expressed despair for his family. “My mother is sick, I’m sick, and my child is sick,” he said. “They need to eat, but I’m the one who takes care of the food, and now we have nothing.” With six children to support, Mohamadi is among countless residents left homeless and destitute.

“I’m not alone,” he said. “There are many of us who have lost everything — our houses, our food. I want the government to care about us, to give us food and a place to sleep.”

Mayotte, a densely populated archipelago of over 320,000 people, is also home to an estimated 100,000 migrants, many living in precarious conditions.

The poorest overseas region of France and, by extension, the European Union has long struggled with systemic neglect and underinvestment. Around 75% of its population lives in poverty, and the archipelago’s infrastructure was ill-equipped to withstand a disaster of this magnitude. Chido’s destruction has compounded these challenges, leaving many residents with little faith in the government’s ability to provide timely and adequate relief.

Efforts to deliver emergency aid, including airlifts of water and food, are underway, but the scale of the need is staggering. Mayotte’s airport remains closed to civilian flights due to damage, further complicating logistics.

French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit on Friday, acknowledged the gravity of the situation and pledged to rebuild but faced criticism from residents frustrated by the slow pace of aid.

Calling the archipelago “totally devastated,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau painted a bleak picture — with some 70% of the population gravely affected by the catastrophe, and many left homeless and vulnerable. For now, the island’s residents and its overstretched medical staff are left to confront the daunting aftermath of Chido, one day at a time.