March 22 – The French national Olivier Grondeau was released from prison in Iran on Thursday after spending almost two and half a years in jail on national security charges.
His release coincided with Nowruz, Iran’s New Year, but no details have been provided about the circumstances that led to his freedom. Iran’s government has previously freed prisoners during Nowruz.
A second French national who wished to remain anonymous and who had been detained for several months was also released.
A new report by the United Nations concluded that Iran’s human rights violations were “extensive and complex” and needed to be further investigated by another body set up to deal with the breaches.
Iran’s government was accused of serious human rights violations during the nationwide 2022 anti-government protests following allegations of arbitrary detentions, torture and forced confessions as well as physical and sexual violence against female protestors.
The UN Human Rights Council had previously found that Iran officials had in some cases committed crimes against humanity, and urged global vigilance as the regime continued to commit human rights violations.
And U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing up a travel ban on Iran, according to an internal memo seen by the Reuters news agency.
The memo lists 41 countries divided into three separate groups, with Iran listed in the first group of countries, all marked for a full visa suspension.
The bans were previously implemented by Trump during his first term as president, in which he barred travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations.
The current proposal is yet to be approved but is part of an immigration crackdown which Trump says is intended to protect the US from “security threats.”
