Two European Citizens Detained in Iran Are French
France’s Foreign Ministry has called for the immediate release of two of its citizens in Iran in a statement. The secretary of the Education and Culture Federation of the French Labor Union has also stated that the two detained individuals are likely employees of this federation.
Reuters reported on Thursday, May 12 (Ordibehesht 22), citing a member of the FNEC FP-FO Education and Culture Federation of the French Labor Union, that a French couple went missing while they were on vacation in Iran.
This news was released one day after Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence announced that it had arrested two European nationals on charges of “organizing riots and diverting people’s demands” in Iran.
Christophe Lalland, secretary of the federation, told Reuters that he had no news of these two employees. He added that while there is “no certainty” that the two individuals arrested by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence are the same employees, there is “strong likelihood” for this assumption.
According to Lalland, the couple was on vacation in Iran and while they were supposed to return to France early this week, there is no news from them. A diplomat in the region confirmed that the two people arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence hold French citizenship.
On Thursday, France’s Foreign Ministry called in a statement on Islamic Republic authorities to immediately release the two citizens.
According to the statement, France’s ambassador in Tehran has asked Islamic Republic authorities to provide consular access to these two French citizens. The ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Paris has also been summoned to France’s Foreign Ministry to provide explanations.
Identity of the Detainees
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence or judicial authorities have provided no clarification regarding the identity of the two arrested European citizens.
Shahid Alavi, an investigative journalist, identified the two individuals as Cecile Kohler, public relations officer of the Education and Culture Federation of the French Labor Union, and her husband, Mr. Kohler.
According to Shahid Alavi, the work background of these two individuals and the timing of their travel to Iran coinciding with teacher protests have “made them a suitable subject for security scenarios and a hostage-taking project of Iran’s security apparatus.” He noted, however, that the two traveled to Iran on tourist visas and not as members of the Education and Culture Federation.
From the perspective of political observers, the timing of this arrest with the conclusion of Hamid Noori’s trial, accused of participating in the execution of political prisoners in the 1980s, and the announcement of the final conviction of Assadollah Assadi’s accomplices, an Islamic Republic diplomat who was the architect of the bomb plot at the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization rally in Paris in 2018 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, cannot be coincidental.
Additionally, Iran’s Judiciary announced that it will execute Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish citizen accused of espionage, by the end of Ordibehesht.
These coincidences have reinforced speculation about the Islamic Republic’s use of hostage-taking policy and intent to exchange prisoners.
Source: DW
