Iran Releases French Citizen Detained for Illegal Entry

In comments on Sunday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said the French citizen had been freed a few days earlier after legal proceedings were completed and other charges were dropped.

On Wednesday, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had told French lawmakers that Paris was in touch with Iran to improve the conditions of the woman arrested in October on Iran’s Persian Gulf island of Kish for allegedly signing an illegal mining contract.

Nelly Erin-Cambervelle, a 59-year-old businesswoman from Martinique, had been reportedly on Kish as part of her import-export business, according to Reuters.

Details over her arrest first appeared in Martinique media after Patricia Gros-Desirs Dicanot, a friend and colleague, was quoted as saying that Erin-Cambervelle had been arrested for illegally buying gold after originally going to Kish to begin negotiating a minerals contract.

Le Drian said on Wednesday, “The consular services have been able to meet her several times and are very concerned about her situation… We are in touch with the family and with the Iranian authorities to ensure that Mrs. Erin’s situation improves, while respecting Iranian procedures.”

On February 6, ranking diplomats from Iran and France met in Paris for the sixth round of political negotiations, an initiative agreed on by the two countries’ president back in 2016.

In the gathering, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Secretary General of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Maurice Gourdault-Montagne discussed a range of issues, including the latest status of Iran-France bilateral ties, the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and INSTEX (a payment channel that three EU states have set up to maintain trade with Iran), the fight against terrorism and extremism, and the regional developments.

The periodical talks began in January 2016, after a visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, during which the two nations signed a number of agreement.

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