French couple held by Iran convicted on 'totally baseless' charges: France

A French couple held by Iran for more than three years who were this week sentenced to lengthy jail terms for espionage were arbitrarily convicted on unfounded charges, the French foreign ministry said Thursday, calling for their "immediate" release.

Both Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris "were arbitrarily sentenced... to very long prison terms", French foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux told reporters. "The charges... are completely baseless," he added.

Kohler and Paris, who had been charged with spying for the French and Israeli intelligence services, were sentenced to 20 and 17 years in prison respectively, the Iranian judiciary announced on Tuesday.