Overview
- President Emmanuel Macron said the two French nationals left Evin prison and reached the French Residence in Tehran, calling the move a first step.
- Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said they are safe at the Residence and that a team has been dispatched to accompany them as procedures continue.
- Kohler and Paris were convicted in mid-October to 20 and 17 years on espionage-related charges they deny, which Paris has long labeled arbitrary.
- Their lawyers welcomed the development as ending 1,277 days of arbitrary detention and vowed to seek accountability for violations of their rights.
- They were the last two French citizens officially held in Iran, and discussions have included Tehran’s previously floated swap involving Mahdieh Esfandiari, who remains under judicial control in France pending a January trial.