‘We are very, very concerned’: Sister Cecile Kohler’s warning two years after her imprisonment in Iran began

He spent two years from that day in Tehran prisons. Although French woman Cécile Kohler has been detained since May 7, 2022 in Iran along with her partner, her sister Noémie Kohler appeared in the media on Tuesday to express her concerns.

“She continues to fight, but she can’t take it anymore. She’s tired, exhausted,” she lamented in an interview with HuffPost, recalling their last conversation, dated April 13. “The situation is completely blocked, so she is desperate,” continues the latter.

Three trips per week

Cécile, 39, a modern literature teacher in Yvelines, was arrested while traveling to Iran with her partner Jacques Paris, a 69-year-old former mathematics teacher. The reason given by the authorities was “espionage.” In September, Iranian justice announced that the investigation against them had been completed, paving the way for a possible trial. The teacher is being held at Evin Prison in Tehran, as is her cellmate, who is in a section reserved for men.

In a second interview, this time with France Bleu Alsace, Noémie Kohler talks about the particularly difficult conditions of her sister’s detention: “She is in a nine-square-meter cell with other women who change regularly. We know that she is only allowed to make three trips a week from her cell to the small yard – trips that last 30 minutes and which can also be cancelled, she laments. Since the beginning of her imprisonment, she had only three books. We can’t send him mail, we can’t send him money,” Noemi says, before adding: “We’re very, very concerned about the effects this could have on his physical and mental health. »

She points out that she has no news about the progress of their situation: “We don’t even know if there is a case. We have no information about possible legal proceedings. My sister still does not have access to lawyers. It’s a complete blur. »

The release last year of French prisoners in Iran Benjamin Brière and French-Irish Bernard Phelan in May, French-Iranian Fariba Adelkha in February, who was allowed to return to France in October, gives them hope for Cécile and Jacques, but the current situation is growing Tensions between Iran and Israel heighten their fears.