Iran has allowed two French former detainees, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, to leave the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises there since their release from prison.
Read more'No signs of hope': French couple mark three years in Iranian prison
“Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on route toward French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” Macron tweeted.
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The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signaled how Iran is differentiating between nations, treating some favorably and others as foes, in the context of the Iran war. Macron has distanced France from the conflict, saying his country wasn’t consulted in advance about the US-Israel strikes and didn’t want the war.
Macron thanked Oman for playing a mediation role in the release of Kohler and Paris. “It’s a relief for us all and obviously for their families,” Macron wrote.
Iranian authorities freed them from prison in November but didn't let them leave the country. They'd been held for more than three years in detention on spying charges, which Paris said were unfounded.
French officials said they were then being kept safe at the French Embassy in Tehran.
Political prisoners
Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher from eastern France and her partner Paris, in his 70s, were arrested on May 7, 2022, on the last day of a tourist trip to Iran.
They were held in section 209, seen as reserved for political prisoners, at Tehran's Evin Prison.
A source at the French foreign ministry said they left Iran Tuesday at dawn in a diplomatic convoy with the French ambassador and "are currently in Azerbaijan".
Lawmakers greeted Macron's announcement with a standing ovation at the National Assembly.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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