Detained for 1,079 days in Iran, former prisoner Benjamin Brière told internet journal that upon his return to France, the tax authorities criticized him for not having filled out his tax form, even going so far as to tell him that his family "could have done it".
After more than three years of detention in Iran, his release is far from being the end of his ordeal.
Benjamin Brière, a Lyon resident detained in Iran for 1,079 days, explains that his return to France did not mark the end of his ordeal. He describes his release as another shock, almost as violent as the arrest itself, so brutal was the return to ordinary life after years of isolation. He had been sentenced in 2022 by the Iranian justice system for espionage and propaganda against the regime.
“I no longer existed”
Upon his return, Benjamin Brière says he discovered he had somehow fallen off the administrative radar. According to him, he had been removed from several programs and had to reactivate his status with Social Security, France Travail (the French employment agency), and the tax authorities. He describes this period as a series of administrative battles, even though he had just emerged from a long period of captivity.
The clash with the tax authorities: he is accused of not having declared his income during his captivity.
The most bizarre anecdote concerns his interactions with the tax authorities. Benjamin Brière recounts being asked why he hadn't declared any income for four years. When he explained that he was imprisoned in Iran and physically unable to fulfill his tax obligations, he claims an agent replied that even in prison, one declares income, and that his family could have done it for him.
A response he considers absurd given his conditions of detention.
The former hostage naturally disputes this response from the tax authorities, recalling his conditions of captivity. He says that during the first year, he couldn't speak to his family. During the second year, he was only allowed fifteen minutes of phone time every four to six weeks. Tax matters were far from his priority. He specifies that he was finally able to regularize the situation the following year, but that this episode was just the beginning.
With no resources upon his return, he turned to France Travail.
After settling his tax affairs, Benjamin Brière turned to France Travail, formerly Pôle emploi (the French public employment service). He recounts that upon his return, he lacked the money to live, feed himself, find housing, and finance his psychological consultations, which cost over 500 euros per month. He says he had to ask his parents for help and lived with his mother for a while, all the while hoping to recover the eight months of unemployment benefits he still had to claim.
A long battle to regain his rights
According to his account, France Travail in Lyon initially refused his claim, arguing that he had filed his claim too late. Benjamin Brière then pursued multiple appeals, first to the regional mediator, then to the national mediator, without success. The situation was finally resolved after the intervention of Member of Parliament Éric Bothorel, who contacted the Minister of Labor at the time directly. The very next day, his benefits were reinstated, allowing him to receive approximately €8,000 in compensation.
A request for special status for former hostages
With the SOS Hostages association, Benjamin Brière advocates for the creation of a clear legal status for former hostages. He also calls for concrete reintegration assistance, so that freed individuals can find housing, food, and rebuild their lives without immediately relying on their families or traditional support systems ill-suited to their situation.
