France has again demanded the immediate and unconditional release of three of its citizens held in Iranian prisons and refused to comment on the prisoner swap proposal raised this week by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Reuters reports, News.bg reports.
Among those detained are Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Parry, arrested in 2022 under conditions that Paris says amount to torture. In July, they were joined by an 18-year-old cyclist with French and German citizenship.
Araqchi said the three could be exchanged for Madie Esfandiari, an Iranian student in Lyon who was arrested this year for anti-Israel publications. According to him, “a lot of work“ has already been done on this case and “good news“ is expected.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, however, refused to comment:
“France insists on the immediate and unconditional release of our citizens in Iran and I will not comment on the words of the Iranian Foreign Minister,“ he told France Inter radio.
Koehler and Parry are accused of espionage and inciting riots. Accusations that France considers groundless. Paris has already filed a case with the International Court of Justice against Iran for violating the right to consular protection.
Negotiations for the release have been ongoing for months. The prospects for a deal appear even more complicated after France, Britain and Germany triggered a procedure to restore UN sanctions on Iran in August.
Human rights groups and Western countries often accuse Tehran of using the detention of foreigners and dual citizens as a political tool for pressure. An accusation that Iranian authorities categorically reject.