‘I saw my sister forced to say she was a spy on Iranian TV. It was the worst day of my life’

Cécile Kohler’s ‘confessions’ were aired on Iranian state media. Her family and French authorities say the admissions were forced. Photograph: Television Iran

In a few weeks, the family of Cécile Kohler will mark the second anniversary of the day she disappeared from their lives. On 6 May 2022, the family say that the then 37-year-old French teacher was at the end of a sightseeing holiday with her partner Jacques Paris in Iran. She had been in regular contact, posting photos and updates to her family on WhatsApp. But then, two days before she was scheduled to fly home, Cécile’s social media fell silent.

At first the family thought that she must have had a long trip back to France and was too tired to check her messages. When she didn’t turn up to her job the following week, they called the French authorities.