French Citizen Louis Arnaud Freed After Two Years in Iranian Jail

Louis Arnaud, a French citizen detained in Iran for nearly two years, was reunited with his family in Paris on Thursday after being released from prison.

"I am very glad to welcome one of our hostages who was indeed held arbitrarily in Iran," Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourne said.

"Our diplomatic service is still at work" to free three other French citizens. Jacques Paris, Cécile Koller, and a man named only as Olivier are held in Iranian jails, he added.

Arnaud, a 36-year-old consultant, set off in July 2022 on a round-the-world trip that led him to Iran.

He was arrested in September 2022, along with other Europeans, for allegedly participating in demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini.

While Arnaud's traveling companions were soon released, he remained in prison until his sentencing in November for propaganda and harming Iranian state security.

Three other French nationals, whom Paris describes as "state hostages," are detained in Iran.

He was held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, “without any substantiated charges brought against him," his support committee said in July, expressing concern about the "psychological and physical consequences and irreversible effects that this prolonged detention" could have on the prisoner.

Western governments have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage for the sole purpose of using them in prisoner swaps or as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.

Many European countries have urged their nationals not to travel to Iran, warning that they face the risk of arbitrary arrest or unfair trial.