France – Europe 1, August 19, 2024
Several former hostages will gather next week in western France, alongside the association SOS OTAGES, to call for the release of three French nationals held in Iran, and to underline the “seriousness” of their situation. Benjamin Brière (ex-hostage in Iran), Mortaza Behboudi (journalist, ex-hostage in Afghanistan), Olivier Dubois (journalist, ex-hostage in Mali) and Pierre Legrand (ex-hostage in Niger), will be present on August 24, 25 and 26 at the Fête des Vieux Gréements, in Paimpol (western France) to call for the release of the couple Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, arrested in May 2022 in Iran, as well as an unnamed Frenchman named Olivier.
“Raising public awareness of the cause of these state hostages”
“This mobilization aims not only to support our unjustly imprisoned French citizens, but also to denounce the inhumane conditions of detention to which they are subjected,” states a press release from the collective in support of Cécile Kohler. Noémie Kohler, Cécile Kohler’s sister, and Sylvie Arnaud – mother of Louis Arnaud, recently released as a hostage in Iran – will also be present at the rally in Paimpol.
Every two years, the Fête des Vieux Gréements de Paimpol brings together over a hundred old three-masters and other historic boats in the harbor of this Breton town. “The gathering, which will take place in such a symbolic setting as the Fête des Vieux Gréements, will highlight the seriousness of the situation and the urgency of international action,” adds the press release. The aim is also to continue to “raise public awareness in France to the cause of these state hostages”, emphasizes the association SOS OTAGES in a press release.
