The young Franco-German Lennart Monterlos, arrested in Iran, was released, announced French diplomacy on Wednesday, October 8. His parents say they are “relieved of the imminent return” of his son of Iran.
“I do not forget Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, whose immediate liberation we demand,” added the renouncing Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, while these other two French have been imprisoned for more than three years in Iran.
The young man was expected after Iranian justice, his acquittal, was expected on Monday, a few months after his espionage position. Since his arrest, France had condemned this arbitrary detention.
“We are relieved of our son’s return to us,” his parents reacted in a written statement transmitted by his lawyer Me Chirinne Ardakani.
“But our thoughts go immediately to Cécile (Kohler) and Jacques (Paris) whose return as soon as possible and for whom we will continue to fight with their families, as well as all European hostages still arbitrarily detained,” they added.
“Solid perspectives” for a launch of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris
Originally from Eastern France, Lennart Monterlos, a German mother and a French father, had been arrested in Bandar-Abbas (South), the third day of the conflict between Iran and Israel at the time of leaving Iran to Afghanistan after a country of solo bicycle crossing. His Iranian visa soon expired.
For French diplomacy, he was considered a “state hostage”, as well as Cécile Kohler, a 41 -year -old card teacher, and that his partner, Jacques Paris, 72, a retired math master.
Kohler/Paris’s couple had been arrested on the last day of a tourist trip to Iran. Since then, these two people have been accused of “spying for Mossad”, Israeli intelligence services, “conspiracy to overthrow the regime” and “corruption in earth.” Its destination is still uncertain even if positive signals have been issued in Tehran as in Paris in recent weeks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, recently aroused the hope of a release by evoking the imminence of an exchange between these French prisoners and Mahdieh Espandiari, an Iranian detained in France.
For his part, the Chief of French diplomacy repeated on Monday at Radio France Inter that there were “solid perspectives of being able to bring them back in the coming weeks.”
During the last ten years, Iran has multiplied the arrests of Western citizens, especially French, accusing them of espionage, more frequently to use them as a currency to free the Iranians linked to the regime, imprisoned in Western countries or to obtain political wages.
On Monday, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of Iran spoke once more about the possible release of the French couple in exchange for the Iranian national party owned in France.
“The decision on the release of these two people and Mrs. Espandiari is being examined by the competent authorities,” said Esmaïl Baghaï. “We hope that once the necessary procedures have been completed, they will be carried out soon.”
Mahdieh Esfandiari was arrested in Lyon (Rhône, Center-Eest) on February 28 and since then he has been in “Prior detention to the trial” in the Fresnes prison (suburb of Paris) for “apology for terrorism, online provocation of terrorism and insults due to the origin or religion” in connection with the publications of a telegram account on the October of October of 7, 2023.
Last March, two other French, Olivier Rumbleou and a man whose name has never been revealed, had been released. The number of imprisoned French in Iran had completed in early 2023 at seven.
Source: BFM TV
