World · Middle East · 8 hrs ago
French couple describes nearly four years of detention in Iran
Iran detained French teachers Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris in May 2022, near the end of their tourist trip.
They spent 1,277 days in custody before returning to France on 8 April 2026.
The couple say they were held separately in Tehran’s Evin prison, with months of isolation, constant lighting and threats.
They describe this treatment as “white torture,” designed to break prisoners psychologically without leaving physical marks.
They say interrogators pressured them to doubt their own memories and eventually forced them to make false confessions of espionage.
Their testimony is featured in a France 2 programme about their detention, broadcast on 15 October 2026.
Their account sheds light on Iran’s detention of foreign nationals and the pressure used against them.
French teachers Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris say they endured nearly four years of harsh detention in Iran.
They were arrested in May 2022 during a tourist trip and held for 1,277 days.
They describe isolation, threats and interrogations at Evin prison in Tehran, and say they were pressured to make false espionage confessions.
The couple returned to France on April 8, 2026, and recount their experience in a France 2 program broadcast on October 15.
- Who
- French teachers Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris.
- What
- They describe their detention in Iran, including isolation, threats and pressure to make false confessions.
- When
- They were detained for 1,277 days, from May 2022 until April 2026.
- Where
- Iran, including Evin prison in Tehran.
- Why
- Iranian authorities accused them of espionage and other offenses; the sources say the couple were tourists and describe the charges as false.
Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris
Iranian authorities
Charges
Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris
The couple say they were pressured into false espionage confessions.
Iranian authorities
Iranian authorities accused them of espionage and other offenses.
Detention
Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris
The couple describe being held as hostages in harsh conditions and subjected to psychological pressure.
Iranian authorities
Not stated in the sources.
Kohler and Paris were arrested in Iran as their tourist trip was ending.
The first news of the couple came in the form of a pseudo-interview, according to franceinfo.
The couple returned to France after 1,277 days in detention.
France 2 broadcast an Envoyé spécial program about their detention.
- Detention
- 1,277 days
- Prison
- Evin prison, Tehran
- Arrest
- May 7, 2022
- Return to France
- April 8, 2026
- Broadcast
- Envoyé spécial on France 2, October 15, 2026
3 sources
"Vous devenez fou" : Cécile Kohler et Jacques Paris racontent la "torture blanche", la méthode du régime iranien pour "briser votre esprit"
“On nous a bâillonnés pendant quatre ans” : “Envoyé spécial” reconstitue le calvaire de Cécile Kohler et Jacques Paris en Iran
"Dans l'enfer des geôles iraniennes" : Envoyé spécial revient sur la détention du Nantais Jacques Paris et de Cécile Kohler en Iran
What people are saying
What interests them is to break your mind.
You go back to your cell and you go mad.
We were hostages, state hostages.
We are not broken, we are going to testify.