Tehran, Iran:
Iran mentioned Tuesday that French nationals Cecile Kohler and her companion Jacques Paris, jailed since 2022, are “in good well being”, denying latest claims of deteriorating circumstances.
“The 2 are… in good well being, so any declare relating to their poor situation is denied,” judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir advised reporters in Tehran, citing a report from the authorities.
Kohler and her companion have been jailed in Iran since Might 2022 on fees of espionage, a capital offence within the Islamic republic.
In October 2022, Iran’s state tv broadcast what it mentioned had been “espionage confessions” by the 2 French detainees.
The French authorities condemned the airing of the alleged confessions as “shameful, revolting and unacceptable” and described the pair as “state hostages”.
Final month, dozens of individuals held an indication in Paris to denounce what Kohler’s sister Noemi Kohler described because the “alarming” bodily and psychological situation of the pair.
French Overseas Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had earlier met with households of French nationals held in Iran and mentioned his authorities was pushing for his or her speedy launch.
One other French citizen, recognized solely by his first title, Olivier, has been in detention since October 2022. French authorities haven’t launched particulars of his case.
They’re amongst a number of European passport holders in Iranian custody, a few of them twin nationals. Iran doesn’t recognise twin citizenship.
On October 28, Iran executed 69-year-old German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd, who was sentenced to loss of life in February 2023 for the capital offence of “corruption on Earth”.
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