Colonna Calls on Iran to Immediately Release French Hostages

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. AFP
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. AFP
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Colonna Calls on Iran to Immediately Release French Hostages

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. AFP
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. AFP

Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called on Tuesday for the immediate release by Iran of French “hostages” in the country.

During a brief exchange with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of an Iraq support summit taking place on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan, Colonna said she insisted on the respect of “civil and political rights” in Iran and the “non-interference” of Tehran in its neighborhood.

“I spoke to him briefly in the summit room to ask him again for the immediate release of the hostages who are being held by Iran and for full respect for international humanitarian law and international law in general,” she said.

“This means respecting its international obligations both in terms of civil and political rights (..) and non-interference in the affairs of others”, the French Minister underlined.  

In Paris, the support committees for Fariba Adelkhah and Benjamin Brière, currently detained in Iran, urged, in an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, coordinated action by European countries.

“It must be recognized that the (French) negotiation strategy pursued until now has not yielded any significant results,” the committees said in their letter.

According to the French authorities, seven French nationals are detained in Iran, including Cécile Kohler, a teacher and trade unionist, and her companion Jacques Paris.

In addition to this couple arrested in early May while sightseeing in Iran, there is Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, arrested in June 2019 and then sentenced to five years in prison for undermining national security, as well as Benjamin Brière, arrested in May 2020 and sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for espionage.

In their letter to Macron dated Monday, the support committees said they fear that the list will grow “since the capture of foreigners has become real public policy in Iran.”

The committees also asked the French President “to reconsider” the diplomatic strategy “to put an end to the ordeal of our relatives, our colleagues, our fellow citizens, and this barbaric policy of blackmail that Iran is practicing at the diplomatic level.”

“France’s European partners also have nationals taken hostage by the Tehran authorities. It is high time that Europe speaks with one voice and to insist that any form of dialogue and relationship with Iran is related to the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages,” the letter wrote.



Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use

The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use

The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Ukraine asked the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague on Tuesday to investigate the alleged use of banned toxic munitions by Russia against its forces.

A request to establish an investigation was submitted by Kyiv to the governing body of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

It followed Dutch and German intelligence agencies on Friday saying they had evidence of widespread use of illegal weapons by Russia along the frontline.

Agency chief Fernando Arias said in a statement to the OPCW's Executive Council that in view of the alleged frequent use of dangerous chemical agents his office would step up monitoring of activity along the Russia-Ukraine conflict line, Reuters reportf.

He invited Ukraine to discuss its proposal with member states, a majority of whom may be needed to support such an investigation.

The OPCW created a similar team in 2018 to examine accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria. The Investigation and Identification Team found that Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants had used banned chemical weapons in the civil war that began in March 2011. The United States first accused Russia in May last year of using chloropicrin, a chemical compound more toxic than riot control agents and first used by Germany during World War One. The OPCW, a disarmament agency in The Hague with 193 member states, said last year that initial accusations levelled by both countries at each other were "insufficiently substantiated".

Both sides have denied using chemical weapons in the conflict, which escalated when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

"Ukraine hereby requests the Director-General of the OPCW to take steps towards establishing an independent and impartial mechanism (to) investigate cases of alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine," a copy of the request shared with Reuters said.

It asked that the mechanism be empowered to "collect additional evidence and identify perpetrators, organisers, sponsors of such use."

It was submitted at the beginning of four days of closed-door meetings by the 41-country Executive Council of the OPCW. The disarmament body had no immediate comment on the request.

At least three Ukrainian deaths have been tied to chemical weapons use, the Dutch Military Intelligence Agency said, while more than 2,500 people injured on the battlefield reported chemical weapons-related symptoms to Ukrainian health authorities.

On Monday, Britain targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.