The last two French citizens detained in Iran, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, were heavily sentenced on Tuesday, October 14, the Iranian official judicial news agency Mizan announced, without naming them. A source familiar with the case confirmed to Le Monde that hearings took place and that the couple were sentenced. French authorities have not commented.

After more than three years in detention, both were sentenced to 10 and six years in prison, respectively, for “espionage on behalf of the French intelligence service,” and five years for “conspiracy and collusion to commit acts against national security.” In addition, one member of the couple was handed a 20-year sentence of “exile prison” for “cooperation in intelligence matters with the Zionist regime, a charge considered moharebeh,” a war crime against God, according to the terminology used in Tehran. The other received 17 years of “exile prison” for complicity in espionage for Tel Aviv.

The nature of this “exile” sentence was not specified, but Iranian dissidents are regularly sentenced to years of “banishment” and sent to isolated provinces, far from the capital or major urban centers. The ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court within 20 days and the sentences are not cumulative: Only the longest would apply, according to the Iranian news agency.

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