Türkiye's IYI Party Signals Withdrawal from Opposition Alliance

Meral Akşener, chairwoman of the IYI Party, speaks during an election rally in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 22, 2018. (Reuters)
Meral Akşener, chairwoman of the IYI Party, speaks during an election rally in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 22, 2018. (Reuters)
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Türkiye's IYI Party Signals Withdrawal from Opposition Alliance

Meral Akşener, chairwoman of the IYI Party, speaks during an election rally in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 22, 2018. (Reuters)
Meral Akşener, chairwoman of the IYI Party, speaks during an election rally in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 22, 2018. (Reuters)

Türkiye's nationalist IYI Party leader Meral Aksener said on Friday the six-party opposition alliance of which her party was a member no longer reflected the national will, signaling her party's withdrawal from the grouping ahead of May elections.

Aksener told a news conference that the IYI Party's proposed presidential candidates, the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, were not accepted by the other five parties and she called on the mayors to do their duty, in an apparent invitation for them to stand as candidates.

The other five parties in the alliance had agreed on Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), as their joint candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 14 elections.



French Foreign Minister Denounces Spy Charges against Couple Imprisoned in Iran

A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, on the day of support rallies to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, on the day of support rallies to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
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French Foreign Minister Denounces Spy Charges against Couple Imprisoned in Iran

A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, on the day of support rallies to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, on the day of support rallies to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo

France’s foreign minister denounced spy charges reportedly being used to hold two French nationals in Iran for more than three years, saying the allegations are “unjustified and unfounded."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday said France had not been formerly notified by Iranian authorities of the charges against French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, which reportedly include spying for Israel.

If confirmed, France would consider the charges “totally unjustified and unfounded,” Barrot said, calling for the couple’s ”immediate, unconditional release.”

According to The AP news, Kohler, 40, and her partner Paris, 72, were arrested in May 2022 and until last month were detained at Tehran's Evin Prison, known for holding dual nationals and Westerners who are used by Iran as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations.

A French diplomat was able to meet the pair earlier this week as their families demanded proof they were alive following recent Israeli strikes on the prison.

Kohler's sister, Noemie Kohler, said in an interview broadcast Thursday on BFM TV that the couple were told they had been charged with spying for Israel, conspiracy to overthrow the Iranian regime and “corruption on Earth.”

“Our understanding ... is that they face death penalty,” she said. “We’re really extremely worried about their psychological state and the trauma of the bombings.”

The visit by the French diplomat took place at a prison south of Tehran but, like some other prisoners, Kohler and Paris were transferred from Evin following the Israeli strikes and their location is unknown, Noemie Kohler said.