Edmonton Journal ePaper

FRANCE FURIOUS AS CITIZENS JAILED

Iran on Thursday published video showing two detained French citizens purportedly confessing to acts of espionage, as Iranian leaders sought to portray ongoing anti-government protests as a foreign plot instead of widespread anger over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman detained by the country's morality police.

The video released by the state-run IRNA news agency showed a woman presented as Cecile Kohler, a high school teacher and educational trade union official, alongside her partner, Jacques Paris. France's government issued a blistering rebuke to the allegations and described those detained as “state hostages.”

Iran, which long has used detained Westerners as bargaining chips in negotiations, previously has offered no public evidence to support the spying accusations.

WORLD

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2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edmontonjournal.pressreader.com/article/281801402857079

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