Former Iran State TV Official to Be Deported from France

Bashir Biazar, a former managing director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has been detained in France and is awaiting deportation, according to Iran International's Paris correspondent.

Biazar, who was in charge of the state TV’s music office, is currently in administrative detention—a procedure utilized for urgent deportation cases under French law, Niloufar Pourebrahim reported late Friday.

Sources informed Iran International on Friday that the deportation process for Biazar is in progress following his detention. While Iranian officials assert that his arrest is linked to his anti-Israel activities, sources have disclosed to Iran International that he is facing multiple security-related charges.

The nature of these charges are not clear, although in the past similar cases Iranian diplomats and government employees abroad were found to have had links with Tehran's security and intelligence organs.

Iran’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Bagheri-Kani, and the head of the Judiciary's Human Rights Headquarters, Kazem Gharibabadi, have called for Biazar’s immediate release. On Thursday, Bagheri-Kani instructed Iran's ambassador in Paris to urgently address Biazar’s case.

The Iranian Embassy in Paris has yet to respond to Iran International’s inquiries regarding Biazar’s detention.

Earlier, the state-affiliated Mehr News Agency described Biazar as an activist, noting that he was summoned by the French police and subsequently arrested without explanation.

This incident occurs amidst the ongoing imprisonment of several French citizens in Iran, including Cécile Kohler, Jacques Paris, and Louis Arnaud.

Biazar has resided in France since 2022 on a long-term family visa due to his wife’s residency. Prior to his arrest, he posted a video of his speech at the UN Human Rights Council last November, in which he criticized Israel and the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Previously living in London, Biazar identified himself as the secretary of the Iran-backed Islamic Student Association of London in interviews with Iran’s state-run outlets such as the IRGC's Tasnim News Agency.

In an interview with Tasnim, Biazar stated: "After obtaining a bachelor's degree in political science from Allameh Tabatabai University and a master's degree in international relations from a university in Hyderabad, India, I went to London. There, I began studying filmmaking at Kingston University, and after the 2009 elections, I joined the Islamic Society."