France demands the immediate release of two French citizens sentenced in Iran to long prison terms for espionage charges, which the French authorities consider completely unfounded.

Two French citizens were sentenced on Tuesday by a court in Iran to severe penalties, totaling decades in prison, for charges that French authorities consider completely unfounded. Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, has called for their immediate release.

The first defendant received a sentence of 6 years for espionage, 5 years for conspiracy against national security, and 20 years of detention in exile for cooperating with Israeli intelligence services. The second was sentenced to 10 years for espionage, 5 years for conspiracy, and 17 years for complicity in cooperating with the same services. French authorities state that the two are incarcerated under harsh conditions at Evin prison and do not benefit from adequate consular protection, while Iran rejects the allegations made.