PARIS, TEHRAN – An Iranian court has sentenced two French nationals to prison terms exceeding 60 years,
This comes after they were convicted on charges related to espionage, threatening national security, and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
Without revealing their identities.
Spying for the French intelligence service
According to what was published by the Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary,
One of the defendants was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of “spying for the French intelligence service.”
and an additional 5 years on charges of “gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security,”
In addition to 20 years in exile on charges of “intelligence cooperation with Israel, as a war crime.”
The second defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “espionage for the French intelligence service.”
And five years for the charge of “assembly and collusion,” and another 17 years for the charge of “aiding intelligence cooperation with Israel.”
With these rulings, an Iranian court has sentenced two French citizens to prison terms exceeding 60 years.
Term exceeding 60 years
The agency explained that the rulings were issued by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, and that the lawyers had been informed of them.
These are still preliminary rulings that can be appealed before the Supreme Court within 20 days from the date of notification.
However, prison sentences exceeding 60 years for the two French citizens remain in place.
In addition, according to sources, the accused were arrested on March 8.
The two men are likely to be Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French union activists who were arrested in May.
This came after their meetings with activists in the labor and educational movement inside Iran.
However, Mizan Agency did not explicitly mention the names of the accused.
Tehran denies the accusations.
The Iranian authorities, for their part, have repeatedly denied accusations made by European countries, including France,
It is reported that Tehran is practicing a policy of “hostage-taking” to use them as a political bargaining chip.
Severe prison sentences exceeding 60 years were also issued against those involved, as evidence of her firm stance.
She stressed that all arrests were made in accordance with legal procedures.
France in the crosshairs of accusations
Coinciding with this announcement, the spokesman for the judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, stated,
That the French government did not fulfill its promise regarding the release of Iranian citizen Mahdiyeh Esfandiari,
Detained in France on charges of “supporting Hamas” and “glorifying terrorism.”
Iranian judicial sources indicated that negotiations are underway between Tehran and Paris for a prisoner exchange.
The case of the French detainees in Iran has sparked widespread European criticism, amid growing calls for their release.
And to guarantee their basic rights, and provide fair trials away from political exploitation.
