The family and relatives of Louis Arnaud, a Frenchman detained in Iran since late September, have again called for his release, and asked European governments to "redouble their efforts" to free their nationals.
"Louis had started his world tour on July 19, 2022, we take this anniversary date to draw attention to his situation," explained the mother of the 35-year-old consultant, Sylvie Arnaud. In a statement, his support committee denounced "an unfounded detention" and stressed that Louis Arnaud, accused of participating in the demonstrations that broke out in Iran in September after the death of Mahsa Amini, "claims his innocence".
More than 9 months of detention
"Louis and European travel companions had stayed away from the demonstrations that began in mid-September when they had already been in the country for several weeks. They were on their way to an escape game site to celebrate the birthday of one of them when they were abruptly arrested and taken to Tehran's Evin prison. While his European friends have since been released, Louis has now been detained for 293 days," the statement said.
On July 29, 2022, Louis began his world tour. One after is a sad anniversary. For 294 days, Louis has been deprived of his liberty. Together, let's act to demand his release.Sign & share the petition https://t.co/gSmKMmYkvq #FreeLouisArnaud pic.twitter.com/REgYpjrDZ6 ✍️
— Louis Arnaud's Support Committee #FreeLouisArnaud (@freelouisarnaud) July 19, 2023
"His conditions of detention have improved, and he can call us regularly," his mother said. "Physically, he's fine. He is trying to maintain his mind which is starting to falter because of the length of detention," she continued. "We call on the French government and European governments to redouble their efforts to secure the release of their nationals," she said.
"State hostages"
The Islamic Republic of Iran detains more than a dozen Western nationals, most of them dual nationals, and is accused by their supporters and NGOs of using them as bargaining chips in negotiations. In addition to Louis Arnaud, three Frenchmen, whom Paris describes as "state hostages", are still detained in Iran: a French teacher, Cécile Kohler, and her companion Jacques Paris, arrested in May 2022 for "espionage", and another whose identity has not been disclosed.
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French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, arrested in 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison for endangering national security, was released on 10 February but banned from leaving Iran.