Amnesty International Calls for 'Immediate Release' of Cecile Kohler, French Citizen Imprisoned in Iran

Amnesty International issued a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Cecile Kohler, a French teacher and trade union activist, from the prisons of the Islamic Republic. Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, who traveled to Iran on a tourist visa, were arrested on April 30, 2022. In a statement released on Tuesday, July 25, Amnesty International condemned the Islamic Republic's policy of 'hostage-taking' and 'perpetual extortion', noting that two years have passed since the arrest of this modern literature teacher in Iran. The international human rights organization further demanded her unconditional release, citing forced and public confessions from the teacher and her detention under 'inhumane and dishonorable' conditions. The statement also emphasized that the airing of Ms. Kohler's 'forced confessions' on the official television of the Islamic Republic violated her rights to a presumption of innocence and her right not to testify against herself. Cecile Kohler faces charges including 'conspiracy and collusion aimed at acting against national security' and remains detained in Evin prison without trial. Ms. Kohler's family has rejected the accusations made against their child, labeling the airing of her forced confessions as a propaganda video of the Islamic Republic. Amnesty International stated that the broadcast of these forced confessions during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in Iran was used by the Islamic Republic to advance the theory of Western countries' interference in these protests. The organization noted that Iranian authorities have deprived Cecile Kohler of regular contact with her family, stating that she has not been allowed to contact her family since April 12. Ms. Kohler's family is concerned for her health and previously announced that in one of her calls, they learned that prison officials were giving her sleeping pills and appetite suppressants. Cecile Kohler mentioned in one of her calls with her family that she was arrested on charges of espionage. On June 14 of this year, Louis Arnaud, a French citizen imprisoned in Iran who was sentenced to five years in prison last year on security charges, returned to Paris after his release from prison. Following the release of this French citizen, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, called on the Islamic Republic to release Cecile Kohler, Jacques Paris, and Olivier, other French citizens imprisoned in Iran, unconditionally. Several countries, including France, have referred to the detention of Western citizens by the Islamic Republic as 'hostage diplomacy'. They claim that the Islamic Republic uses the detention of citizens for 'bargaining in negotiations' with the West.