Syed Zafar Mehdi
03 January 2023•Update: 03 January 2023
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran's judiciary has indicted two French nationals with espionage and collusion against the country's internal security.
Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi said at a weekly press conference on Tuesday that the verdict against the French nationals is awaited.
He also said an indictment was issued against a Belgian national in a separate case, adding that a probe into the case is underway at a local court.
The spokesman did not reveal their identities.
In late November, Setayeshi said 40 foreign nationals have been detained amid protests, but without revealing their nationalities.
In October, Iran's state TV broadcast a film showing two French nationals detained by the intelligence ministry for alleged involvement in anti-government protests.
The video showed Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French teachers, confessing to working for their country's intelligence agency to "foment unrest" in Iran.
The French Foreign Ministry, however, called it "shameful, revolting, and unacceptable", saying the duo was "arbitrarily detained" by Iranian authorities in May 2022.
In November, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed that two French nationals had been detained in Iran, saying it brought the total number of French detainees in the country to seven.
"We are worried about two other compatriots and the last verifications show they are also detained," she told Le Parisien at the time.
Iranian authorities have not revealed which French nationals have been indicted, fueling speculation that it could be Kohler and Paris.
Researcher Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian dual national, was also arrested in June 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison for acting against Iran's national security.
Although judicial authorities have also not revealed the identity of the Belgian national detained in Iran, reports suggest it could be Oliver Vandecasteele, who was arrested in February on charges of espionage.
His family last month said they were informed at a meeting with Belgium's prime minister that he will get a 28-year jail term.
