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On Friday, October 07, 2022, the French Foreign Ministry called on its citizens who “visit Iran to leave the country as soon as possible, given the risks of arbitrary arrest to which they expose themselves.”
“All French visitors, including those with dual nationals, are at high risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unfair trial,” the Foreign Ministry said in an update to travel advice posted on its website.
She added that “this risk also concerns people who make a simple tourist visit,” noting that “in the event of arrest or detention, respect for basic rights and the safety of people is not guaranteed.”
This update of the advice comes following Iranian state television broadcast what it described as the “confessions” of two French citizens who were arrested last May and accused of spying.
The French Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Iran’s broadcast of these “confessions” is “an inappropriate, disgusting, unacceptable and in violation of international law.”
“This farce reveals the Iranian authorities’ contempt for human dignity,” the ministry added in a statement, calling for the “immediate release” of the French Cécile Coller and Jacques Barry.
The ministry added that these two French nationals, whom it identified as unionists in the field of education, “have been arbitrarily detained in Iran since May 2022 and are considered as hostages of the state.”
She said that “their alleged confessions extracted under duress are without foundation, nor are the reasons that necessitated their arbitrary arrest.”
In addition to Kohler and Paris, two other French nationals are being held in Iran, a country that NGOs accuse of engaging in hostage diplomacy on the international stage.
The French Foreign Ministry warned on its website that “the ability of the French embassy in Tehran to provide consular protection to citizens arrested or detained in Iran is severely restricted.”
The French Foreign Ministry had classified the entire Iranian territory as “red” in its travel advice due to the situation in this country since the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16.
