Iranian-French academic Adelkhah released from Iran’s prison
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Sulaiman
- . February 11, 2023
- . Update: February 11, 2023 2:59 pm
Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian anthropologist and academic at Sciences Po, has been released from Iran’s Evin prison, according to the French government.
Adelkhah has been in prison since 2019. The Iranian authorities arrested her when she was on a visit to Iran. She is one of seven French nationals arrested by Iranian authorities and detained in Iran. This factor also affected the relations between Paris and Tehran.
The French foreign ministry said in a statement, “It is important that all of Ms Fariba Adelkhah’s freedoms are restored, including returning to France if she wishes.” France welcomed her release, saying that she had been “unjustly detained” in the Evin prison. However, the conditions of her release remain unclear.
The French foreign ministry further said in a statement, “France reiterates its demand that all French nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran are released immediately.”
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In 2020, Iranian officials sentenced Adelkhah to five years in prison on national security charges. Later on, they moved her to house arrest. In January this year, she returned to jail.
Adelkhah has repeatedly denied the charges. France has also called the charges “politically motivated” and repeatedly called for the release of Adelkhah.
In recent years, members of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard have arrested many dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and national security.
Reportedly, it is not immediately clear if Adelkhah would be able to return to France. A researcher affiliated with Paris’ prestigious Sciences Po university confirmed that she had been freed from Evin.
In November 2022, Two well-known actresses from Iran- Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi – were arrested for ‘provocative’ social media posts. They were summoned by prosecutors in a probe into their “provocative” social media posts.
In October 2022, Iran arrested the daughter of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on the charges of inciting protests in the country.
