Iran says two French citizens held for over three years will
return home as part of a prisoner exchange, pending France’s release of an
Iranian national.
After accommodations in Paris with his French counterpart
Jean- Noel Barrot, Abbas Araghchi told television channel France 24 that "an exchange was negotiated between us and France."
French residents Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were
detained in May 2022, were released from captivity before this month but remain
at Paris' delegation in Tehran, awaiting authorization to leave Iran.
Iranian Mahdieh Esfandiari was arrested in France in
February on suspicion of encouraging" terrorism" on social media,
according to French officers.
She is listed to stand trial in Paris on January 13, but was
granted bail by French legal officers last month and is now at the Iranian
delegation in Paris.
“There has been an agreement and indeed, we are waiting for the entire legal and judicial process to take place in both countries,”
Araghchi said.
France has not confirmed or disputed the existence of such
an exchange agreement.
France has branded Kohler and Paris as "state
hostages" abducted by Tehran in order to extract concessions. They were
convicted on espionage allegations that their families have consistently rejected
as false.
In recent years, dozens of Europeans, North Americans, and
other Western citizens have been detained under similar circumstances.
Iran has previously exchanged Westerners for Iranians incarcerated in the West, but insists that foreigners are convicted in accordance with the law.
“The verdict has been issued (against Kohler and Paris), but based on Iranian law, prisoners can be exchanged in the interest of national security, and the exchange process is decided within the framework of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council,”
said Araghchi.
What legal steps are needed in Iran and France to finalize the swap?
France has described Kohler and Paris as" state
hostages" held under dubious spying charges, with their families denying
the allegations. The French government has neither verified nor denied the
actuality of the exchange but continues political efforts for their
release.
In France, legal processes include granting bail or
releasing Iranian detainee Mahdieh Esfandiari, who faces charges related to
social media exertion. The French judicial system must also authorize her
release harmonious with French law.
Political collaboration between the foreign ministries of
both countries is essential to grease the logistics of the exchange, including
issuing trip documents and icing safe conveyance. Historically, similar barters
involve an sanctioned government- position agreement, frequently coordinated
through the separate delegacies and consulates, alongside legal concurrences on
both sides.