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French Nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris Return Home After Over Three Years in Iranian Detention
Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French teachers detained in Iran since May 2022, arrived in Paris on Wednesday after a journey from Iran via Azerbaijan. They had been held in Tehran's Evin Prison on espionage charges and released in what Iran described as a prisoner swap. French officials welcomed them, and President Emmanuel Macron met with the couple at the Elysee Palace.
Apr 8, 10:00 AM·2m read1 source
France 24Audio version
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Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, both French nationals and teachers, returned to France on Wednesday after more than three and a half years in detention in Iran. They landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on a commercial flight from Azerbaijan, four years and a day after their arrest in Tehran on May 7, 2022.
Family members and officials from the French Foreign Ministry greeted them at the airport, followed by a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
The couple's detention began during a trip that their families described as tourism. An Iranian court sentenced Paris to 17 years and Kohler to 20 years in October for espionage charges related to alleged spying for France and Israel. France has described the detention as unjustified and unfounded.
Kohler and Paris were held in Evin Prison, a facility in Tehran known for housing political prisoners. They spent more than three years there, including periods in solitary confinement in cramped cells where they slept on the floor under constant neon lighting. They faced interrogations and threats from jailers, according to reports from French daily Le Monde.
In June of the previous year, Israeli air strikes targeted Evin Prison, resulting in the deaths of several inmates and a temporary loss of contact with Kohler and Paris for their families. The strikes occurred amid broader regional tensions involving US and Israeli actions against Iran.
France has stated that the couple's transfer from Iran on Tuesday involved no coordination with US or Israeli forces, even as air strikes hit infrastructure such as two bridges and a train station in the region.
The journey out of Iran took eight hours by road across the country, followed by four hours to cross the border into Azerbaijan, as reported by Le Monde. Embassy staff monitored the process amid concerns it could fail at the last moment. Omani mediators facilitated the approval for their departure from Iran.
