French President Emmanuel Macron said Iran has released two French citizens imprisoned for more than three years on espionage charges denied by their families, although it remains uncertain when they will be allowed to return to their homeland.
Macron expressed his “great satisfaction” and said on Wednesday that Cécile Kohler, 41, and her partner Jacques Paris, 72 – the last French nationals officially known to be detained in Iran – had been released from Iran. Evin Prison North of Tehran and were on their way to the French Embassy.
He welcomed this “first step” and said talks were underway to ensure their return to France “as quickly as possible.”
It was a couple He was arrested in May 2022 During his visit to Iran. France denounced their detention as “unjustified and baseless,” while their families say the trip was purely touristic in nature.
Both teachers, though Paris is retired, were among a number of Europeans who fell for what activists and some Western governments, including France, have described as a deliberate strategy of “hostage-taking” by Iran to extract concessions from the West.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said they were granted “conditional release” on bail by the judge in charge of the case and “will be placed under observation until the next stage of the judicial proceedings.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France 2 television that they were in “good health” at the French ambassador’s residence, but declined to provide details about when they would be allowed to leave Iran.
Their Paris-based legal team told Agence France-Presse in a statement that their release “ended their 1,277 days of arbitrary detention.”
The release comes at a time of extreme sensitivity in dealings between Tehran and the West in the wake of the attack The 12-day war between the United States and Israel In June against Iran and re-imposed UN sanctions In the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, which the country insists is purely for civilian purposes.
Some Iranians worry that Israel will use the sanctions, which are already causing more economic pressure in the country, as an excuse to attack again, as it has used sanctions. Resolution issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency in June as a pretext for war, which Israeli officials and the public alike cheered.
The sentences issued against the French couple on charges of spying for France and Israel, which were issued last month after a closed trial, amounted to 17 years in prison for Paris and 20 years for Kohler.
Concern about their health increased after they were transferred from Evin following an accident Israeli attack on the prison During the June War.
In October 2022, Kohler appeared on Iranian television in what activists described “Forced confession”It is a relatively common practice for detainees in Iran, which human rights groups say amounts to torture.
Her parents, Pascal and Mireille, told AFP in a statement that they felt “very relieved” to now be in “a little corner of France”, even if “all we know now is that they are out of prison.”
France filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice over their detention, saying they were being held under a policy that “targets French citizens who travel to or visit Iran.”
But in September, the International Court of Justice suddenly dropped the case at France’s request, raising speculation of closed talks between the two countries to release them.
Iran said the duo could be released as part of an exchange deal with France, which would also see Iranian Mahdia Esfandiari released.
Esfandiari was arrested in France in February on charges of promoting “terrorism” on social media, according to French authorities.
Her trial was scheduled to begin in Paris from January 13, and she was released on bail last month in a move welcomed by Tehran.
Barrow refused to comment when asked by France 2 whether there was an agreement with Tehran.
Among the Europeans still imprisoned in Iran is Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmad Reza Jalali, who was sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges that his family vehemently rejects.