Nearly a year and a half after the start of the detention of two French people in Iran, Iranian justice indicated on Tuesday that it had completed its investigation, which opens the way to a trial.
Iranian justice indicated Tuesday that the investigation into two French people arrested in 2022 in Iran, the teacher Cecile Kohler and her companion Jacques Paris, had been completed, opening the way to a possible trial for “espionage”.
“A man and a woman, both French citizens, were arrested for spying against Iran,” Justice Ministry spokesperson Massoud Satayshi said during a press conference.
“Their case was referred to the competent court after a thorough investigation. An indictment has been issued,” he added, without giving details.
“Their lawyers have reviewed their case twice and, when new information becomes available, we will communicate it,” continued the spokesperson.
“Unacceptable conditions”
Cecile Kohler, French teacher and trade unionist, and Jacques Paris, retiree, were arrested on May 7, 2022 while they were sightseeing in Iran.
Their relatives have repeatedly organized rallies in France to demand their release and denounce their “extremely difficult” conditions of detention in Tehran’s Evin prison.
In addition to Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two other French people are still detained in Iran, the consultant Louis Arnaud, arrested on September 28, 2022 in Tehran, and another whose identity has never been made public.
“Nothing justifies the detention” of “French nationals in prisons and in unacceptable conditions in Iran,” declared President Emmanuel Macron in a speech on August 28.
Other European countries and human rights defenders accuse Tehran of detaining dozens of foreigners in a strategy of blackmail.
Another Frenchman, Benjamin Brière, and a Franco-Irish national, Bernard Phelan, were released in May for “humanitarian reasons”.
Source: BFM TV
