A total of seven French citizens are being held by Iranian authorities, according to France's foreign minister. Meanwhile, Iran's judiciary indicted 11 people over the death of a member of the pro-Tehran Basij militia.

Two more French citizens are being held in Iran, the French Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

This brings the total number of French nationals being held in the country to seven.

What did the French Foreign Ministry say about its detained citizens?

"We have concerns over two other citizens and from our latest checks the result is they are being detained," Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told the newspaper Le Parisien.

"If its (Iran's) objective is to blackmail us, then this is the wrong way to go about dealing with France," Colonna said.

Several of the French citizens detained in Iran are also Iranian nationals.

On Friday, French newspaper Le Figaro reported that two citizens had been arrested prior to the start of protests in September. A foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that two more French nationals were being held in Iran, without giving further details.

Protests over the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody and the ensuing crackdown led to a number of Western countries to impose sanctions on Iran. Diplomats told the Reuters news agency that a new round of EU human rights sanctions will be approved at a foreign ministers' meeting on Monday.

Early in October, Paris accused Iran's government of engaging in "dictatorial practices" and taking French citizens hostage. The accusation came after a video was aired in which a French couple appeared to confess to spying.

Iranian judiciary indicts 11 over Basij militia death

Meanwhile, Iran's judiciary has indicted 11 people over the killing of a Basij security force member during unrest, according to state media.

Iran's IRNA news agency said that 10 men and one woman were charged with "corruption on earth" for crimes that lead to the death of a member of the Basij. The charge carries a possible death sentence.

The Basij is a pro-government volunteer militia. The member of the force was killed on November 3 in the city of Karaj in Tehran's metropolitan area.

sdi/wd (Reuters, dpa)

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