espionage confession
France recommends its citizens to leave Iran
Many people are also demonstrating abroad against the political regime in Iran – like here in Hamburg. photo
© Bodo Marks/dpa
The protests against the regime in Iran also have an impact on foreign nationals. France warns of a high risk of arrests.
After a French couple arrested in Iran admitted they were apparently forced into espionage, France has recommended that its citizens leave Iran as soon as possible. The French Foreign Ministry justified its recommendation on its website on Friday by saying that French nationals visiting the country face a high risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unjust sentences. That also applies to tourists. In the event of an arrest, respect for fundamental rights and security are not guaranteed.
On Thursday, the French foreign ministry accused Iran of holding the couple, who were arrested in May, as “state hostages” and showing them on television in an unacceptable manner. Paris insisted on the immediate release of the two Frenchmen. An Iranian television station broadcast an alleged spy confession by the couple on Thursday. The two French are said to have confessed to wanting to provoke protests in Iran. They are agents of the French secret service.
Also warnings from Berlin
After the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September, numerous people demonstrated in Iran. The security forces also used violence against demonstrators. Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has described the anti-government protests as a foreign conspiracy.
In view of the protests, the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin also urgently advises against traveling to Iran. For Germans, there is a concrete danger of being “arbitrarily arrested, interrogated and sentenced to long prison terms,” according to the travel and security information on the Internet. There is a particular danger for individual travelers. “Routes entered into electronic maps and navigation systems, especially for planning off-road trips, can be interpreted by the Iranian security authorities as evidence of spying and espionage attempts.” There were increasing cases in which the use of drones was classified as espionage, even with prior approval.
The Iranian moral police had arrested Mahsa Amini because of her alleged “un-Islamic outfit”. She fell into a coma and died in hospital on September 16. The police deny using violence. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, more than 130 people have died in the protests that followed. Scores of people were arrested, including journalists and activists.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs