France recently detained three Iranian nationals after issuing them 'obligations to leave France'. They were released shortly after, but documents identifying them were given to the Iranian consulate. NGOs have expressed worry about these incidents.
“I want to assure you here that we will not expel anyone (…) to Iran,” said France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin in front of the Senate on January 25. Two recent incidents appear to contradict his statement.
The first case is that of a couple who fled Iran. The French border police (PAF) arrested them for the first time at the end of March when they arrived at a Paris airport. The couple received an Obligation de quitter le territoire français (OQTF), 'an obligation to leave France'. Authorities arrested the couple again on April 15, in the south of France, when they were trying to catch a flight to the United Kingdom. That day, the Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture (administrative region), relying on the existing OQTF, sent them to the Toulouse-Cornebarrieu administrative detention center (CRA) with an expulsion order to Iran.
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A few days later, on April 23, the Aude prefecture sent a third person of Iranian nationality to the same detention center. This person was also the subject of a deportation order to Tehran. Yet, authorities released her the next day. "The doctor provided a certificate of incompatibility with detention", Paul Chiron told InfoMigrants. Chiron is in charge of detention at Cimade, a French organization that supports migrants and refugees.
The couple also left the administrative center after 48 hours of detention, following an initial hearing before a judge. During the hearing, the couple learned the Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture had contacted the Iranian consulate in France in order to obtain a consular pass, a prerequisite for their expulsion.
Information sharing "endangers" relatives in Iran
InfoMigrants was able to consult the letter sent by the prefect’s services to the Iranian consulate on April 15. It contained the full names, dates and places of birth of the man and the woman. The letter also mentioned the enclosure of “two ID photos". For Paul Chiron, "they were clearly identifiable."
"During their hearings, the three Iranian nationals clearly expressed the fear of persecution in the event of deportation to Iran", said Amnesty International, the Iran Justice collective and Cimade in a joint press release published on May 3. The contact with the Iranian consulate therefore appeared "absolutely unacceptable, because the administration knowingly provides information concerning people seeking refuge in Europe."
Since September 2022, Iranian authorities have violently repressed protests against the ruling regime. In light of this political context, providing information to the Iranian consulate "endangers these people in France but also their families who remained in Iran who could thus be the subject of reprisals following the flight of their relatives", noted the press release.
The department of Hautes-Pyrénées did not respond to requests for comment.
Nearly a dozen Iranians threatened with deportation since last September
According to various associations, "eleven Iranian nationals have been placed in detention" recently, said Paul Chiron of La Cimade. They believe that the objective is to deport them to Iran, rather than an eventual "transfer" to another European country (in the context of the Dublin regulation).
Read more: French officials issue deportation notices to Iranians despite ban
Among these eleven Iranian nationals, several cases have been publically reported. French authorities detained an Iranian woman at the Chambéry airport after she received an OQTF on January 15 and sent her to the detention center in Toulouse. In a separate case a month earlier, an Iranian woman was placed in the same detention center by the Aude prefecture.
The French authorities then proceeded to contact the Iranian consulate in Paris, as evidenced by documents consulted by Mediapart.
Interior minister: "Fake Passport"
French interior minister Darmanin justified this in front the Senate in January. "When police found [that the person] was in an irregular situation on the national territory and she said she was Iranian, it was obviously necessary to verify her identity. It is for this purpose that we consult with the consular services of all countries, including those of Iran (...) the objective being to prevent certain people from pretending to be others."
Read more: France deports four Afghans to Bulgaria, lawyers fear return to Afghanistan
Darmanin's argument could apply to the Iranian couple, who reportedly traveled with false passports, as indicated by the services of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the email to the consulate.
Yet, "everything indicates these people have recently arrived and are fleeing their country: this is one of the reasons why people travel using a false identity", said Paul Chiron. "Buying a fake passport from a smuggler to travel to the UK reflects a need to flee."
Whether it is Iranians, Syrians or Afghans, the removal measures recently documented by associations and journalistic investigations are "against international law", said the head of the Cimade.
"After a while, you have to stop telling yourself that departments are just being zealous in their work," said Paul Chiron. "The departments and the Ministry of Interior are ready to do anything to expel, including to Afghanistan."
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