L’Iran accused, Wednesday, July 6, of “undermining the security” of the country two French trade unionists detained since May 11 by the Iranian authorities, according to the judicial authority. Cécile Kohler, a leader of the Fnec FP-FO teachers’ union, was arrested, along with her husband Jacques Paris, while they were sightseeing in Iran during the Easter holidays, according to a French union source. The French were “accused of association and collusion with the aim of undermining the security of the country”, indicated the spokesman of the judicial power, Massoud Sétayechi, during a press conference in Tehran.
Tehran had announced, on May 11, the arrest of two Europeans “who entered the country with the aim of triggering chaos and destabilizing society”. France denounced an “unfounded” arrest and demanded their “immediate release”. “These two people are currently in custody,” said the spokesperson, adding that “the prosecution is dealing with this case”. Iran announced in mid-June the arrest of a suspected Marxist activist linked to the two Frenchmen, without disclosing his identity or the date of his arrest.
According to television, the Marxist militant had the mission of “organizing workers’ and teachers’ rallies to turn them into riots across the country”. For months, Iranian teachers have been demanding reforms for an increase in their salaries and also calling for the release of their colleagues arrested during previous mobilizations. Iranian education union leader Rasoul Bodaghi was sentenced to five years in prison in April, according to a human rights organization. In May, hundreds of people demonstrated in several cities of the country, including Tehran, after a series of measures announced by the government, in particular the lifting of subsidies on flour and the increase in the prices of certain foodstuffs.
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