France sues Iran over detained citizens at UN court

France sues Iran at top UN court over citizens detained in Tehran

Portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held for more than three years in a prison in Tehran, are attached to the railings of France's National Assembly in Paris.

File/AP

Paris has filed a case against Tehran at the UN's International Court of Justice over two French citizens who have been held in Iran for three years, the French foreign minister said on Friday.

In its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France accuses Iran "of violating its obligation to provide consular protection" to Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris and holding them "hostage" under "appalling conditions that amount to torture," Jean-Noel Barrot told France 2 television.

French teacher Kohler and her partner Paris on Wednesday marked three years in detention in Tehran.

"They are at the end of their strength," Kohler's sister told RFI on Wednesday. “Cécile and Jacques are increasingly desperate and are less and less optimistic.”

Kohler, 40, and Paris, who is in his seventies, were arrested on 7 May 2022 at the end of a tourist trip to Iran. They are accused of spying – charges they strongly deny.

They are being held in section 209 of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, an area reserved for political prisoners.

They are the last known French citizens still detained in Iran and are considered “state hostages” by the French government.