France – Public Sénat, March 05, 2025
Cécile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, have been arbitrarily detained in Iran since 2022. As of now, the French Foreign Ministry has no short- or medium-term prospects for their release. Speaking before the Senate on Wednesday, March 5, Cécile’s sister raised concerns about their deteriorating health, particularly that of Jacques Paris.
“There is a life-threatening emergency.” On Wednesday, March 5, during a hearing before the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Noémie Kohler expressed deep concern over the health of her sister, Cécile Kohler, and her partner, Jacques Paris, who have been imprisoned in Iran for nearly three years. “They are being held in absolutely inhumane conditions,” she warned, noting that both have been placed in solitary confinement in the notorious Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison.
“They have no access to independent lawyers. Our contact with them is extremely sporadic—less than once a month—through brief calls or WhatsApp video chats lasting between 3 to 10 minutes, when we’re lucky,” Noémie Kohler explained. While the two prisoners are not allowed to discuss their health, their physical transformation is alarming to their loved ones. “We are terribly worried about their health. They are slowly dying in Section 209. We feel powerless.”
