The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, said she had asked her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, for the "release of French hostages" held by Iran, during a summit in Jordan devoted to Iraq.
“I spoke to him briefly in the summit hall to ask him again for the immediate release of the hostages who are being held by Iran and for full respect for international humanitarian law and international law in general,” said the Minister of Affairs. foreign.
According to the French authorities, seven French people are now detained in Iran, including Cécile Kohler, a teacher and trade unionist, and her companion Jacques Paris.
In addition to this couple, arrested in early May while sightseeing in Iran, are Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, arrested in June 2019 and then sentenced to five years in prison for undermining national security, as well as Benjamin Brière, arrested in May 2020 and sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for espionage.
“a currency of exchange”
In a letter to President Emmanuel Macron dated Monday, the support committees of Fariba Adelkhah and Benjamin Brière called on the executive to "reconsider its negotiation strategy", judging that it has "received no significant results".
Hostages are "nothing more than currency for obscure transactions that have nothing to do with them", they write, fearing that the list will grow "since the capture of foreigners has become real public policy in Iran”.
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Iran
Catherine Colonna
Hostage
Spying