Iran on Wednesday accused a French couple detained in May while on holiday of allegedly âundermining the securityâ of the country, the judicial authority said.
French teachersâ union official Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris were arrested in early May while on Easter vacation sightseeing in the Islamic republic. They are accused by the authorities of seeking to stir labour protests.
The pair stand âaccused of association and collusion with the aim of undermining the security of the countryâ, judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told reporters in Tehran.
Iran said they were accused of âentering the country to sow chaos and destabilise societyâ.
The French government has condemned their arrest as âbaselessâ and demanded their immediate release.
âThese two people are currently in police custody,â Setayeshi said, adding that âthe prosecution is dealing with this caseâ.
In June, Iranian authorities announced they had arrested a left-wing activist on suspicion of working to âincite sedition and turmoil among the working classâ, and who they said was suspected of meeting the French couple.
Iranâs schools have been hit by months of industrial action by teachers calling for salary raises, with regular protests outside education ministry offices across the country, including calling for the release of their colleagues arrested during previous rallies.
In April, teachersâ union member Rasoul Bodaghi was sentenced to five years in prison for taking part in the protests, according to a human rights group.
In May, hundreds of people demonstrated in several cities, after a series of government measures including the lifting of subsidies on flour and the increase in the prices of certain foodstuffs.
Kohler and Paris are among the latest Western citizens to be detained in Iran, in what activists claim is a deliberate policy to extract concessions from the West â accusations rejected by Tehran.