The father of dual Irish-French national Bernard Phelan, who has been held in an Iranian prison since last October, plans to hand in a petition to the Iranian embassy in Dublin on Thursday.
Mr Phelan, 64, was detained in the Iranian city of Mashhad, despite his father saying he had done nothing wrong and was now seriously ill in prison.
Originally from County Tipperary, Mr Phelan was jailed during protests, which have sent millions of people on to the streets since the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22, in police custody.
Mr Phelan was sentenced to six and a half years in prison by authorities this month, his family have said.
He works for an Iranian tour operator, lives in France and was travelling on a French passport at the time.
His sister, Caroline Masse-Phelan, said her family intended to hold a vigil outside the Iranian embassy on Thursday because of growing concern about his “fragile” condition.
His father, Vincent Phelan, 97, said on a YouTube video that he thought about his son from the minute he opened his eyes every morning.
“I have lost one son and I have only one left — Bernard," he said. "For the next few years — I don’t know how long I am going to live. Who does?
"But I rely on Bernard to help me. He was hoping to get home soon. I hope the government are putting pressure on the Iranians.
“I can’t understand why they put Bernard in to prison. Bernard didn’t do anything wrong. I miss him a lot and I’ll miss him more every day. I am relying on him to look after me.”
Mr Phelan has only been allowed to have an eight-minute phone call with his father since he went in to prison, his family said.
In recent weeks, he has also had two phone conversations with Ms Masse-Phelan.
When Mr Phelan was arrested during an educational visit to Iran last October, he was working as a consultant for an Iranian tour operator.
Since 2017 he had travelled back and forth once a year to Iran and was promoting the country as a tourist destination.
He was stopped for taking a photograph of a mosque in Mashhad while he was with the chief executive of an Iranian tour operator.
Mr Phelan has strongly denied a charge of helping to incite propaganda against the Tehran government.
“When he travelled he had no idea that these protests would escalate and that his life would be in danger,” Ms Masse-Phelan told RTE Radio 1 on Saturday.
“He was hauled off to the street and into a van, and taken away.
“He is not alone at being one of these hostages being kept in Iran as some sort of pawns in a political game going on in the country. “He was in the wrong place on the wrong time.”
She said the family feared for the health of Mr Phelan, who has a heart condition, chronic bone inflammation, and is going blind.
“He is extremely fragile," Ms Masse-Phelan said. "His physical health is declining rapidly.
“He has several health issues, cardiac and bone issues.
“But also he is going blind because he had an operation last summer, which was fine and went well, but it hasn’t been treated so he can’t see very far any more.
“He is very concerned that that won’t be repairable when he comes home.”
She said that only limited medical care was provided in the centre where Mr Phelan is being detained.
“He is just very afraid," she said. "He is also extremely depressed because of the length of time he has been in there.
“He just doesn’t see a way out. He understands that the [Irish] government is in close contact with the Iranians, but he doesn’t see the fruits of that.”
Ms Masse-Phelan said her brother also had concerns about his safety in the Vakilabad prison.
“He knows we are talking to the media but he doesn’t see any fruit to that," she said.
“He regularly tells us that he doesn’t know how long he can hold on. He was on hunger strike in January.
“He went on a thirst strike, which put the fear of God in to us. We convinced him to eat again.
"He needs to be let out on humanitarian grounds.”
Ms Masse-Phelan said her brother sent his family “courageous, cheery” letters.
The family said they were hoping that the vigil this week would lead to a breakthrough in the case.
“Bernard’s family and friends will be meeting outside the embassy on March 30," Ms Masse-Phelan said.
“We will be calling on the Iranian authorities to focus on Bernard and to understand that this person shouldn’t be in Iran and should be released.
“Bernard loved the country and was only doing his best for that country. He was trying to help business there. He loved the Iranian people.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why would they keep someone like that?”
She said her father planned to attend the vigil for a short time.
“He will join us," Ms Masse-Phelan said. "He wants to do something to help his son.
“So this is a way with his family and friends to do something, and to take action.
“We have created a petition where we hope we will arrive by 5,000 signatures by next week and then Daddy can present it to the Iranian embassy on the 30th.”
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
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Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
