Iranian businessman Majid Kakavand, who was recently released after spending more than a year in French custody, describes the harrowing ordeal he faced behind bars, Press TV reported.
In a parliamentary session on Monday, Kakavand said he was arrested and charged with violating a US arms embargo as soon as he set foot in France in March 2009.
He said that his explanations about being a staff member of the Iranian Oil Ministry fell on deaf ears with French authorities.
"They said they had direct orders from the US government and immediately transferred me to a shabby French prison where I had to stay in solitary confinement for three months," Kakavand told members of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
The Iranian businessman described the condition in the French detention facility as "critical" and substandard, explaining further that he was constantly mistreated and abused by prison guards.
"At one point, they chained me up instead of calling a doctor to visit me," he noted.
After spending time in solitary confinement, he was transferred to a prison ward where his inmates were mostly charged with murder and trafficking.
Kakavand was cleared of all charges and released from jail in early May. He has vowed to take legal action against US authorities responsible for his unwarranted detention.
...