News

Updated: Tuesday, August 25, 2009

13:30GMT—9:30AM/EST

Washington, 25 August (WashingtonTV)—Iran’s ambassador to France said on Tuesday that French lecturer Clotilde Reiss, who is being tried on charges of espionage in Tehran, was under observation during her time in the Islamic Republic.

The 24-year-old, who was arrested on 1 July, was freed on bail on 16 August, and is now staying in the French embassy in Tehran until the verdict in her case is passed. She was accused of taking part in protests following June’s disputed presidential election, gathering information, taking photos and sending them abroad.

In an interview with the Le Parisien daily, Ambassador Ali Ahani said that there was still no date for a verdict in the case, and rejected accusations that the charges and the trial were fabricated.

Ahani said that Reiss’s decision to live and teach in the central city of Esfahan, where Iran’s nuclear program is based, was suspicious. He also questioned her choice to work at a technical university, although she specialized in social sciences.

The ambassador said that Reiss had applied for an extension to her initial 30-day visa, and stayed in the country illegally after that second visa expired.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner today denied accusations that Reiss was in Iran as a spy, and rejected Ahani’s remarks about h... >>>