France says five-year conviction for citizen held in Iran 'unacceptable'

France said on Wednesday that one its citizens being held in Iran has been sentenced to five years on a baseless conviction. "We learned with the greatest concern that Mr. Louis Arnaud had been sentenced to five years in prison," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre said in a statement.

"This conviction, for which there is nothing to support and the absence of any access to a lawyer, is unacceptable." Arnaud, who has been held since September 2022, is one of four French nationals held in Iran, which France has described as state hostage taking.