HRANA – Lennart Monterlos (Lennart Christian Jean-Pierre Monterlos), a German national who also holds French citizenship, has been released following his acquittal by the Bandar Abbas Revolutionary Court. He had been arrested on charges of “espionage” during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the news today, stating: “Our compatriot, Lennart Monterlos, has finally been freed. He had been detained in Iran since June 16. The people of France share in the relief and happiness of him and his family. I thank everyone who worked for his release.”
President Macron also referred to the continued detention of Cécile Kohler and her husband Jacques Paris, two members of the French teachers’ and education union, calling their detention in Iran arbitrary and urging their immediate release.
ISNA News Agency, citing sources close to Monterlos’s case, reported that he is expected to return to France on Thursday.
On Monday, October 6, Mojtaba Ghahremani, the head of the Hormozgan Provincial Judiciary, announced that the Bandar Abbas Revolutionary Court had acquitted this German-French citizen of espionage charges.
Ghahremani stated: “Despite an indictment issued by the prosecutor’s office, the Revolutionary Court – based on legal principles and in light of doubts regarding the alleged offense -issued a verdict of acquittal. However, under the law, the prosecutor has the right to appeal the ruling.”
During that conflict, a German-language news outlet covering France and global affairs reported that Monterlus, an 18-year-old French national, had traveled to Iran by bicycle and had gone missing on June 16. Shortly thereafter, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed in an interview with a French publication that this citizen had been arrested in Iran.
