Au 977e day of captivity of the teacher from Soultz, Cécile Kohler, and her companion Jacques Paris, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared, this Tuesday, that “the situation of our compatriots hostages in Iran is completely simply unacceptable.” “They have been detained unjustly for several years, in unworthy conditions,” declared the minister during the conference of ambassadors, ensuring that Paris had not forgotten them “for a single second”.
“Since the election of President Pezeshkian and despite our efforts to engage at the highest level, their situation has deteriorated,” continued Mr. Barrot before adding: “I say this to the Iranian authorities: our hostages must be released. Our bilateral relations and the future of sanctions depend on it. And until the complete release of our hostages, I ask our compatriots not to travel to Iran,” he said.
Cécile Kohler informed of the sending of 750 letters
Cécile Kohler, one of three French hostages in Iran, was allowed to contact her family by telephone on December 25. “As (almost) always, she put on a good face and tried to reassure us, but we feel that her despair is deeper and deeper, and that she has more and more difficulty imagining that she is going to release a day”, says her sister Noémie who adds: “When we told her that we had sent her more than 750 letters, we saw her face light up, it did her good because she tends to to think that we forget it. So it’s very important for her to know that there are people behind her and that the mobilization continues. She couldn’t believe that there were a lot of letters from Alsace, including from her former college teachers. For us, one of the objectives of Operation Letters to Cécile has been achieved: to give her strength. Now, we hope that she will still receive at least a few and we are waiting for her to finally have a new consular visit. The last date is February 2024…” concludes Noémie Kohler.
