Iran has freed a French man who was jailed for nearly two and a half years on security charges. Olivier Grondeau, one of three French nationals held in Iran, arrived in France on Monday, the French presidency said.
Officials did not give details about the circumstances of Grondeau's release, which came on Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Iran has previously freed prisoners on this occasion.
Another French national who had been under house arrest in Iran fir severak months, and who requested anonymity, was also allowed to leave Iran, a diplomatic source told the AFP news agency.
Grondeau, who turns 35 next week, has been hospitalised for medical tests after becoming weak during his detention in Tehran’s Evin prison.
He was arrested in October 2022 in Shiraz, southern Iran, during protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly failing to wear her headscarf properly.
Grondeau was sentenced to five years in prison for “conspiracy against the Islamic Republic”. His family rejected the charges, saying he was in Iran on a tourist visa as part of a world trip.
Until January, he had been identified only by his first name. He then chose to go public about his detention.
“Most of the questions were, ‘Did you take part in a demonstration,’ ‘List all of the Iranians that you met during your trip,’ ‘Why did you come to Iran?’ ‘You’re not a tourist,’” Grondeau said in a phone call aired by France 2 public television and France Info radio.
“One day you think you’re going to be freed very quickly, the next you think you’ll die here. You become a human who has been stocked away indefinitely because one government is seeking to exert pressure on another.”
Iran did not immediately acknowledge his release.
Western prisoners in Iran are often freed in exchange for concessions.
Two other French citizens – Cécile Kohler, a teacher, and her partner Jacques Paris – remain in detention. They were arrested in May 2022 and accused of trying to stir up labour protests. Their families have denied the charges.
France has described them as "state hostages" and said they are innocent.
In announcing Gondeau’s release on X, French President Emmanuel Macron said "our mobilisation will not weaken" to ensure their release.
Western countries have long accused Iran of jailing foreign nationals on trumped-up charges to use them as bargaining chips.
(with newswires)
