The family and friends of Lennart Monterlos, a 19-year-old German-French dual national who has been detained in Iran, issued a statement demanding information about his whereabouts and the reasons for his arrest.
In the statement released on Thursday, July 17, the family and friends of Lennart Monterlos stated that, despite one month having passed since his arrest, they have not received any official information regarding the reasons for his detention or where he is being held.
The Monterlos family emphasized that they are relying on French diplomacy to secure the swift release of their very young son, whom they insist is completely innocent.
They also stated that they are in ongoing contact with the German Foreign Ministry and have called on Iranian regime authorities to recognize their son’s legal rights, including access to an independent Iranian lawyer and consular visitation rights.
Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian regime’s foreign minister, said in a July 12 interview with the French newspaper Le Monde that the individual was arrested for “committing a crime” but did not specify what the alleged crime was.
That same day, Araghchi stated that the French chargé d’affaires in Tehran had met with Monterlos and that legal proceedings would continue “in accordance with the law” in Iran.
The governments of France and Germany have expressed concern that their citizens are being detained by the Iranian regime for politically motivated reasons.
On June 16, Monterlos disappeared in Iran during a cycling trip around the world and has had no contact with his family since.
Earlier, on July 6, posts were circulated on social media in an effort to locate him.
A French diplomatic source, speaking anonymously that same day in an interview with Agence France-Presse, called Monterlos’s disappearance “alarming” and said they are in contact with his family regarding the matter.
Iranian Authorities Transfer Detained French Couple to Undisclosed Location
News of this tourist’s disappearance came amid growing concerns in recent days over the situation of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two other French citizens imprisoned in Iran.
The regime regularly engages in “hostage diplomacy,” where it held foreign nationals in prison to extract political concessions, including the lifting of sanctions or influencing nuclear negotiations.
