By bne Tehran bureau
Louis Arnaud, a French banking consultant in his 30s, has been released from Iranian custody after nearly two years of detention, AFP reported on June 13.
He arrived at Le Bourget airport near Paris on June 13 morning on a private jet, where he was reunited with his parents, as shown on French television and the French foreign minister’s social media account.
Arnaud was arrested in September 2022 during a backpacking trip in Iran, accused of participating in anti-government protests over the death of Mahsa Amini and contributing to anti-government propaganda.
In 2023, he was sentenced to five years in prison. However, his case, unlike several American detainees, has been low-key in English language media.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Arnaud's release on X, stating, 'Louis Arnaud is free. He will be in France tomorrow after a long incarceration in Iran.'
However, the president also called on Iran to release three other French prisoners: teacher Cécile Kohler, her partner Jacques Paris, and a man identified only as Olivier.
'This evening, I also think of Cécile, Jacques and Olivier. I am calling on Iran to liberate them without delay,' Macron said.
Iranian media has generally muted, with several agencies and newspapers in the country covering it from the French angle of his release.
Iranian authorities have yet to comment on Arnaud's release.
Macron expressed gratitude to Oman for their assistance in securing Arnaud's freedom.
The Muscat leadership has been instrumental in acting as a broker between Tehran, several European countries, and the US in recent years, including the nuclear file contested between all sides.
According to Arnaud's family, he was celebrating the birthday of a fellow backpacker when their group was detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
All other group members, including other foreign nationals, have since been released from Tehran’s Evin prison and returned to their respective destinations.
Arnaud's arrest coincided with the beginning of widespread protests across Iran in 2022, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in custody.
During several people’s detention, 200 journalists and authors signed an open letter calling for the release of those arrested and journalists who covered the events.
It is not known whether the agreement to release the French national has come about following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, who was president during the protest movement in 2022.
Earlier in September 2023, in a series of events that resembled a Hollywood kidnapping blockbuster, five American detainees (with dual US-Iranian nationalities) held in Iran for years were flown out of the country and repatriated after Tehran confirmed the release of its $6bn frozen by the US in South Korea.
Qatar was the mediator role in that drama, hosting the American detainees in a stopover before their flight to the US and home, as well as accommodating the Iranian money in its banks until Tehran could collect it.
On the same day, five Iranians held in the US were also released as part of the deal.
