On October 14, 2025, Iran’s judiciary announced that two French nationals, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, had been handed down heavy prison sentences after being convicted of espionage and acting against national security. The verdicts, which have drawn sharp criticism from French officials and human rights groups, come amid heightened diplomatic tensions and ongoing speculation about a possible prisoner swap deal between Tehran and Paris, according to AP and BBC.
Kohler, 40, and Paris, 72, have been held in Iran since May 2022, when they were arrested at the end of what France described as a tourist holiday. Iranian authorities accused the pair of meeting with protesting teachers and participating in an anti-government rally—allegations that French officials have repeatedly dismissed as “unjustified and unfounded.” The Iranian judiciary’s official outlet, Mizan, reported that the two were found guilty of spying for both French intelligence and Israel, as well as conspiring against national security. The court’s decision was issued by the Tehran Revolutionary Court, which is known for holding closed-door hearings where defendants often lack access to the evidence presented against them.
Details of the sentences, as reported by Fars and HRANA, reveal that one defendant—believed to be Kohler—was sentenced to six years in prison for espionage on behalf of French intelligence services, five years for conspiracy against national security, and 20 years in exile for intelligence cooperation with Israel. The other, likely Paris, received a 10-year sentence for espionage, five years for conspiracy, and 17 years for aiding intelligence cooperation with Israel. Under Iranian law, sentences run concurrently, meaning each would serve only the longest single term among their charges. Both defendants’ pre-trial detention will be deducted from their sentences, and they have 20 days from formal notification to appeal to Iran’s Supreme Court.
The announcement of these verdicts comes as Iran pushes for the release of Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian national and translator living in Lyon, France, since 2018. Esfandiari was arrested in France in February 2025 on terror-related charges linked to alleged posts about the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Iranian officials have called her detention “arbitrary,” with judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir declaring, “Follow-ups have taken a while but they have not stopped… We are striving for her release without conditions.” France, on the other hand, maintains that Esfandiari’s arrest is based on legitimate legal grounds and has refused to release her on bail.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot have repeatedly called for Kohler and Paris’s immediate release, raising their case in high-level meetings with Iranian officials. The French government has also accused Iran of holding the pair in conditions akin to torture at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, and of denying them proper consular protection—a charge Iran flatly denies. “France has accused Iran of arbitrary detention and torture-like conditions; Iran denies these claims,” BBC reported. Human rights groups echo these concerns, arguing that Iran routinely detains Westerners and dual nationals as leverage in diplomatic negotiations.
The sentences for Kohler and Paris arrive at a particularly sensitive time. In September, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media that a deal to exchange French detainees for Esfandiari was “nearly complete.” While Iranian officials have suggested that the French pair could be released as part of this agreement, no final deal has been reached. Tensions were further heightened during the brief but intense Iran-Israel conflict in June 2025, when an Israeli airstrike targeted the Evin Prison complex, raising fears for the safety of foreign detainees held there.
In a related development, Iran last week released 18-year-old French-German cyclist Lennart Monterlos, who had disappeared in June while riding across the country. Monterlos was acquitted of espionage charges and freed amid ongoing diplomatic contacts between Tehran, Paris, and Berlin. According to AFP, Iran is currently believed to hold around 20 European nationals, many of whom are accused of spying or collaborating with hostile states. Among them are British couple Craig and Lindsay Foreman, who were detained in January 2025 while traveling through Iran on a world motorcycling tour and later charged with espionage. Their family insists they are innocent and being held in “horrific conditions.”
The practice of detaining foreigners as bargaining chips is not new in Iran. Rights groups point to previous cases, such as the release of British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in 2022, which followed months of negotiation and the settlement of a decades-old UK debt to Tehran. Western governments have repeatedly condemned Iran’s use of foreign detainees for diplomatic leverage, but Iranian authorities insist that all arrests and prosecutions are based on legitimate security concerns.
The legal process in Iran’s Revolutionary Court system has drawn international criticism for its lack of transparency and due process. Defendants are often denied access to evidence, and hearings are typically held behind closed doors. In the case of Kohler and Paris, their families and French officials have rejected the charges outright and demanded their immediate release. “Their possible jail sentences, which can be appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court within 20 days, come as Tehran pressures French authorities to release an Iranian national,” AP noted.
Meanwhile, the French government earlier this year brought a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Iran of violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by denying French officials access to their detained nationals. However, Paris later withdrew its request after Foreign Minister Araghchi’s remarks that a prisoner swap was close to conclusion.
As the diplomatic standoff continues, both sides publicly maintain that dialogue is ongoing and that a resolution may still be possible. Yet, for Kohler and Paris, the immediate future remains uncertain. Their fate now hinges on the outcome of appeals, the progress of prisoner swap negotiations, and the broader geopolitical calculations of both Tehran and Paris. For now, their imprisonment serves as a stark reminder of the risks faced by foreigners in Iran and the complex, often perilous intersection of justice and diplomacy in today’s world.
