France calls for "immediate" release of French citizens detained in Iran
The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on the Islamic Republic to immediately release French citizens who have been "arbitrarily" detained in Iran. France also urged its citizens to leave Iran as soon as possible.
France once again emphasized that what the Islamic Republic has presented under the title of "full report" regarding the alleged "confessions" of Cecile Coller and Jacques Paris, two French citizens imprisoned in Iran, is a complete lie.
The statement, published on the French Foreign Ministry website on Friday evening, October 6, states: "This report contains false confessions obtained under pressure."
The statement called the video of the French couple's "forced confessions" "disgusting" and added: "France categorically rejects these false accusations and calls for the immediate release of the French citizens arbitrarily detained in Iran."
On Thursday, October 4, the Islamic Republic published the forced confessions of the French couple, who were arrested in Iran five months ago, and accused them of espionage.
The French Foreign Ministry reacted immediately the same day after the forced confessions of the French couple were broadcast, accusing the Islamic Republic of "state hostage-taking."
Cecile Coller, a member of the Federation of Education and Culture of the French Labor Union, and her husband Jacques Parry, who had traveled to Iran on a tourist visa, were arrested on May 1 of this year, coinciding with International Labor Day, by the security forces of the Islamic Republic on charges of "espionage."
In addition to the aforementioned French couple, Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French researcher who was arrested in June 2019, and Benjamin (Benjamin) Brier, a 36-year-old French citizen who was arrested in 2020, have also been sentenced to prison by the Islamic Republic's security agencies on similar security charges.
Meanwhile, the French Foreign Ministry on Friday updated its travel advice for Iran, warning of the risk of "arbitrary detention" and "unfair trials" of French nationals, including dual nationals, and urged its citizens to leave Iran as soon as possible.
Earlier in the day, the Dutch Foreign Minister had warned against travel by Dutch citizens to Iran and called on all Dutch nationals to leave Iran immediately.
The forced broadcast of confessions of imprisoned French citizens comes on the eve of the European Union's decision to sanction individuals and institutions involved in the death of Mahsa Amini and the "massive repression" of popular protests in Iran.
For years, the Iranian government has been using foreign citizens as hostages to obtain privileges and demands by accusing them of espionage.
The Islamic Republic had previously forced Iranian and foreign prisoners to make forced confessions; statements that they strongly denied after their release, stating that their confessions were extracted through force and threats.
Source: Radio Farda
