We don't know where they are, say families of French prisoners in Iran

Euronews

20 hours ago

For three years, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, a French couple accused of "espionage" by Iran, have been held in Tehran's Evin prison, a large complex in the capital where torture and executions are commonplace.
For Noémie Kohler, Cécile's sister, the Israeli strike on 23 June targeting Evin prison was everything she had feared.
Despite the ceasefire between Iran and Israel that came into force on Tuesday 24 June, she is anxiously awaiting news.
"We spent hours not knowing whether Cécile and Jacques had been hit by the bombing, or whether they were still alive. In the evening, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs was informed that Cécile and Jacques had not been hit by the Iranian authorities, but so far we have had no concrete sign of life, nor any direct contact with them," she says.
Following the Israeli strike, the Iranian prison authorities announced the transfer of a number of prisoners to other prisons. But the family doesn't know if the couple are among them.
"We know nothing about their situation, we're extremely worried, we imagine they've been transferred too, but we don't know where," explains Noémie.
Until now, Cécile, a 40-year-old literature teacher, and Jacques, a 71-year-old retired mathematics teacher, have been held in section 209 of Evin prison, where political prisoners and foreign nationals are detained.
"On 6 October 2023, they were forced to make forced confessions on Iranian television. They were made to confess that they were agents of the French intelligence services," explains Noémie, who claims that the couple were on a tourist trip when they were arrested on 7 May 2022.
Noémie's last contact with her sister was on 28 May 2025.
"We can't call her, she always calls us and it's very random, it's up to her jailers. It's almost always WhatsApp videos of between three and ten minutes under close surveillance, sometimes we wait a month, sometimes three," she explains.
Under these conditions, it is difficult for the family to speak freely with Noémie.
"Every time we call each other, her face is surrounded by a very tight chador [a head covering similar to a hijab] and through her body language, we know that there are people around her, we hear people whispering around her, we feel that she is under pressure," she adds.
Since their imprisonment in May 2022, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been granted just four consular visits. The French government lodged an application against Iran with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 16 May, designating them as "state hostages" and accusing Iran of violating the right to consular protection enshrined in the Vienna Convention.
"On 30 May 2025, following France's request, Cécile and Jacques received their fifth consular visit in three years. We were told that they still have no furniture, that they sleep on the floor in a windowless cell that is lit 24 hours a day. They only see daylight three times a week and go out into an inner courtyard for around 30 minutes," explains Noémie.
"Since December 2024, they have been waiting for a verdict, which they are told will be extremely severe and imminent, but it never arrives - it's psychological torture," she adds.
She believes that Cécile and Jacques' condition has deteriorated rapidly in recent months: "They are increasingly weakened by their detention, they are getting worse and worse, they are at the end of their tether. They really doubt France's ability to get them out of there."
In an article published on X on 21 June, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he had called for the release of the French couple during a call with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian: "Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris must be released. Their inhumane detention is unjust. I expect them to return to France."
Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are officially the last French nationals detained in Iran, following the release of Olivier Grondeau in March 2025, who was imprisoned in October 2022.
On 20 June, the Iranian news agency Tasnim announced that a European citizen, whose nationality was not disclosed, had recently been arrested in Iran, accused of "spying in sensitive areas" of the country.
According to estimates by the NGO Hostage Aid Worldwide, around 15 Europeans and dual nationals from Sweden, France, Switzerland, Cyprus, Germany and the UK are imprisoned in Iran.
Human rights groups accuse Tehran of practising a policy of hostage diplomacy, using Europeans and dual nationals as "bargaining chips" to facilitate its negotiations with the West.