00:00Yes, we have good news coming from Tehran, and it's been confirmed here in Paris.
00:04The two French citizens held in an Iranian prison since May 2022 are now free.
00:11Cécile Coller and Jacques Paris were on holiday in Iran when they were arrested and accused of spying for Israel.
00:17The accusation was dismissed as fantasy by the French government and by their families.
00:22It's now been confirmed via French foreign ministry sources that they are in the French ambassador residence in Tehran,
00:32preparing for the next stage of their freedom.
00:35Emerald Maxwell looks back at their story.
00:39Exploring Iran was a dream of Cécile Coller's, a French teacher in the Paris region.
00:45So over Easter 2022, she and her partner planned a holiday there.
00:49Jacques Paris, a retired maths teacher, had visited the country before.
00:55Coller's family received photos every day of their travels, two French tourists on the trip of a lifetime.
01:02That is, until the 7th of May, the date of their flight home, when they went silent.
01:08That day they were arrested, the pictures broadcast on Iranian state television.
01:12They've since been held separately in the high security section 209,
01:17reserved for political prisoners of the infamous Evin prison.
01:22It's known for its cruelty, as seen in leaked videos from prior to Coller and Paris' arrest.
01:27They're sleeping on the floor, in cells with harsh artificial lighting 24 hours a day.
01:37Still not allowed an independent lawyer, still have very little contact with their embassy.
01:42And the contact they have with us is very sporadic and heavily supervised.
01:45Their families and the French government slam their now three-and-a-half-year detention as arbitrary.
01:54Iran has detained dozens of Westerners and dual nationals in recent years,
01:58seemingly to use as bargaining chips with foreign governments.
02:02Tehran maintains, though, that their judiciary is independent
02:05and that such detentions are not arbitrary.
02:08Tehran maintains, though, that their children are not arbitrary.
Comments