Iran knows my son is innocent, says mother of French man held in Evin jail
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Olivier Grondeau was arrested in 2022 and has accused Iran of using him for ‘political blackmail’ against France. The mother of a French traveller detained in Iran for two years has said authorities “know he is innocent” but continue to hold him in the country’s notorious Evin prison.
![[Olivier Grondeau and Thérèse Grondeau]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/be3289cf54ceb56e77251b98c26062f5ac447474/0_12_1200_1500/master/1200.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Olivier Grondeau, 33, was arrested from his hotel room in Shiraz, in the south of Iran, on 12 October 2022, just weeks into the Woman, Life, Freedom anti-government protests that engulfed the country. The writer, poet and bookseller was in the country as part of a world tour.
For two years, he had asked his family to keep his case private so not to hinder diplomatic efforts. After those efforts stalled, he decided this month to go public by allowing his family to publish an audio recording of him accusing Iran of using him for “political blackmail” against France.
In an interview with the Guardian, his mother, Thérèse Grondeau, said: “For weeks after his arrest I had no idea if my son was dead or alive or was in a hospital. It was the darkest hour.”. He was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “gathering information with a view to handing it over to the opposing espionage service”. He has categorically denied the allegations and maintains his innocence.
Grondeau’s friends and family followed his decision to keep his name anonymous while the French authorities continued to make diplomatic efforts, which are still going on, says Thérèse. “For weeks ahead of him revealing his identity, he was reaching a burnout and now that his name is out in the media, it has really helped his morale. He’s otherwise a very private person,” she said.
