Iran jails Irish-French national for 6.5 years: family

PARIS: Iran has jailed for six and a half years on national security charges an Irish-French citizen held since October, his family said, adding that health problems meant his life was in danger.

Bernard Phelan, a Paris-based travel consultant, was arrested in October in the northeastern city of Mashhad and has been held ever since.

He is one of some two dozen foreigners jailed in Iran who campaigners see as hostages held to extract concessions from the West.

Phelan, 64, is accused of transmitting information to an enemy state, a charge he denies, his family said in a statement late Tuesday.