Iranian court gives lengthy jail sentences to two French citizens on spying charges

Dubai
Reuters
 — 

An Iranian lower court handed heavy prison sentences to two French citizens charged with spying for France and Israel, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday, a week after Paris and Tehran indicated progress in talks to release them.

Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris are the only two French citizens being held in Iran and have been detained since 2022. An 18-year-old French-German cyclist arrested this year, Lennart Monterlos, was released last week after a court acquitted him of espionage charges.

Without specifically naming the defendants, the court sentenced one French citizen to six years in prison for spying on behalf of…