French hostages held in Iran: Paris to file complaint with the International Court of Justice

Paris attacks Tehran. France will file a complaint this Friday against Iran before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) "for violating its obligation to provide consular protection" to the two French nationals still detained there, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on France 2. Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, accused of espionage, are incarcerated in Section 209, reserved for political prisoners, of Evin Prison.

For Jean-Noël Barrot, these are "hostages" who are "being held in appalling conditions that amount to torture." They "are deprived of consular visits from members of our embassy, ​​which is why today (Friday) I am filing a complaint with the ICJ against Iran," the French foreign minister justified. The French foreign minister had already indicated in early April that Paris was preparing to refer the matter to the ICJ due to lack of progress. This announcement was hailed as a "major turning point" by Cécile Kohler's sister.

Cécile Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher from eastern France, and her septuagenarian companion, Jacques Paris, were arrested on May 7, 2022, on the last day of a tourist trip to Iran. Accused of "espionage" by Iranian authorities and considered "state hostages" by Paris, they are officially the last two French citizens imprisoned in Iran, which is holding around twenty Westerners.

Paris has promised to do everything possible to secure their release, but so far in vain. Between 2023 and 2025, at least five French citizens were released after months or years of detention, but Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris hold the grim record of three full years of incarceration, including three months in solitary confinement.

Forced into "forced confessions" broadcast on Iranian state television a few months after their arrest, the two French citizens are subjected to extremely harsh prison conditions. Lights are on 24 hours a day, 30 minutes of outside time two or three times a week, and rare, short calls to their loved ones under heavy surveillance, the last of which was on April 14. In three years, they have received only four consular visits, and virtually no information has filtered through about the legal proceedings.

European chancelleries accuse Tehran of engaging in "hostage diplomacy" to gain leverage in the highly sensitive Iranian nuclear talks , which have been at an impasse for years, and secure a lifting of sanctions. Iranian negotiators are meeting their counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in Turkey this Friday for talks on the issue.