Macron to Rouhani: Imprisonment of French nationals 'intolerable'

Paris reported the arrest of Marchal, a senior researcher at Science-Po university, in mid-October, while his Franco-Iranian colleague Adelkhah has been in prison in Iran since June.

FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos showing French President Emmanuel Macron attending a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 23, 2017, and Iran President Hassan Rouhani looking on at the Campidoglio palace in Rome, Italy, January 25, 2016 (photo credit: REUTERS/PHILIPPE WOJAZER/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/FILE PHOTOS)
FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos showing French President Emmanuel Macron attending a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 23, 2017, and Iran President Hassan Rouhani looking on at the Campidoglio palace in Rome, Italy, January 25, 2016
(photo credit: REUTERS/PHILIPPE WOJAZER/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/FILE PHOTOS)

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday the imprisonment of two French nationals in Iran was unbearable and demanded their immediate release, in a case that complicates French efforts to defuse tension between Washington and Tehran.

“On Human Rights Day, my thoughts go to Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal, our compatriots held in Iran, and their families,” Macron said on Twitter.

“Their imprisonment is intolerable. They must be freed without delay. I told President Rouhani, I repeat it here,” he wrote.

Paris reported the arrest of Marchal, a senior researcher at Science-Po university, in mid-October, while his Franco-Iranian colleague Adelkhah has been in prison in Iran since June.