French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro has met with the families of three French nationals detained in Iran to assure them of efforts by the authorities to "secure their immediate release".
A ministry spokesperson said Barrot on Thursday met with the families of French nationals who were "being held hostage in Iran under unacceptable conditions".
Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, a couple, were arrested in May 2022 and are accused of being spies. Another French citizen, known only as Olivier, is also being held.
The Foreign Ministry ccuses Iran of arbitrarily arresting Westerners and using them as bargaining chips in state-to-state negotiations.
"The minister assured the families of our full attention and availability," the spokesperson said, adding that the release of the hostages was a top priority.
Windowless cells
The families say that they have received little news of their detained loved ones. Phone calls are rare and last only a few minutes. The're also monitored by Iranian authorities.
In June, Kohler sister Noémie alerted the press about her sister's physical and psychological health.
Kohler was in a windowless cell in "Section 209" – one of the most notorious parts of Tehran's Evin Prison, she said. The lights reportedly stay on day and night.
According to the French press agency AFP, senators have asked for the immediate transfer of Kohler and Paris from Section 209 to the political prisoners ward, which has less severe conditions.
Billions of dollars
Earlier this year, several foreigners were released from Iran's prisons, including five Americans freed in a complex exchange for billions of dollars in Iranian funds that had been frozen in a South Korean account. No more Americans are believed to be held in Iran.
Swedish EU diplomat Johan Floderus, whom prosecutors want sentenced to death on spying charges his family strongly rejects, was freed in June as part of a prisoner swap.
But the French citizens are among at least a dozen European passport holders, including dual nationals, held by Tehran.
Two of them, German Jamshid Sharmahd and Swede Ahmadreza Djalali, risk execution after being sentenced to death on charges their families say are utterly false.
(with AFP)
