French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that the imprisonment of two French nationals in Iran could not be tolerated and demanded their immediate release.
"On Human Rights Day, my thoughts go to Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal, our compatriots held in Iran, and their families," Mr Macron said on Twitter.
"Their imprisonment is intolerable. They must be freed without delay. I told President Rouhani, I repeat it here," he wrote.
En cette Journée internationale des droits de l’Homme, je pense à Fariba Adelkhah et Roland Marchal, nos compatriotes détenus en Iran, et à leurs familles. Leur emprisonnement est intolérable. Ils doivent être libérés sans délai. Je l’ai dit au Président Rohani, je le répète ici.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 10, 2019
Paris reported the arrest of Mr Marchal, a senior researcher at Science-Po university, in mid-October, while his Franco-Iranian colleague Ms Adelkhah, arrested on espionage charges, has been in prison in Iran since June.
Their lawyer, Saeed Dehgan, said on Tuesday that Iranian prosecutors have defied a judge’s ruling that the two academics could be released on bail.
Iran does not recognise dual citizenship for its nationals.
A prisoner exchange at the weekend resulted in Iran freeing a Chinese-American scholar from Princeton who had been held for three years on widely criticised espionage charges.
It was considered a rare diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of tension.
Tension have risen sharply over Iran’s unravelling nuclear deal with world powers, which France still supports.
US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord more than a year ago, before reimposing crippling sanctions on Iran’s economy.
