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Iranian-French Academic Sentenced to 6 Years in a Prison

May 16, 2020
Aida Ghajar
4 min read
Fariba Adelkhah's lawyer told AFP that his client had been sentenced to six years in prison, five years of which are enforceable
Fariba Adelkhah's lawyer told AFP that his client had been sentenced to six years in prison, five years of which are enforceable
Adelkhah, who visited Iran in June last year, was detained by intelligence agents at her residence
Adelkhah, who visited Iran in June last year, was detained by intelligence agents at her residence
The court hearings of Fariba Adelkhah were chaired by judge Abolghasem Salavati, who was placed on the US sanctions list last year for "human rights violations" and "unfair trials" in Iran
The court hearings of Fariba Adelkhah were chaired by judge Abolghasem Salavati, who was placed on the US sanctions list last year for "human rights violations" and "unfair trials" in Iran
Roland Marchal, a French researcher who had traveled to Iran to visit his partner, Adelkhah, was also arrested by the Revolutionary Guards
Roland Marchal, a French researcher who had traveled to Iran to visit his partner, Adelkhah, was also arrested by the Revolutionary Guards
In his remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron repeatedly called Adelkha’s and Marchal’s arrests "unacceptable"
In his remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron repeatedly called Adelkha’s and Marchal’s arrests "unacceptable"

The legal status of Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French researcher, was finally determined after she had already spent a year in detention. Adelkhah had traveled to Iran in June 2019 and was detained by intelligence forces at her residence. Now Adelkhah’s lawyer has told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that his client had been sentenced to six years in prison, five years of which are enforceable by law.

Roland Marchal, a French researcher who had traveled to Iran in June 2019 to visit Adelkhah, his partner, was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards at Imam Khomeini Airport. He was released from prison on March 20 this year and returned to France in a prisoners' exchange between France and Iran.

In an interview with AFP, Saeed Dehghan, Adelkhah's lawyer, said five years of the sentence against his client were for charges of "congregation and conspiracy to act against national security" and one year was on charges of "propaganda against the regime." This sentence has been issued in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran and can be appealed. If the verdict is upheld by the Court of Appeals, according to the Islamic Penal Code, five of the six-year will be enforceable.

The sentence was handed down to Adelkhah a month after her last court appearance. The hearings were chaired by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, who was placed on the US sanctions list last year for "human rights violations" and "unfair trials in the Islamic Republic's theatrical courts."

Adelkhah went on a 49-day hunger strike during her one-year detention. According to Iranian officials, she was held in "standard" conditions and had meetings with officials from the French Consulate. But these claims were challenged after the release of her partner, Marchal, who shared his account of Adelkhah's detention conditions and concerns over her situation.

Marchal, a professor at Sciences-Po in Paris and an African affairs expert, was released as part of a prisoner exchange program. An Iranian jailed in France, Jalal Ruhollah-Nejad, was returned to Iran in exchange for Marchal. He spent nine and a half months in prison. Ruhollah-Nejad had been jailed in France for circumventing sanctions and the United States had demanded his extradition before France opted for the prisoner swap.

Marchal spoke of his experiences in detention with the French media – from being held in solitary confinement to sharing prison quarters with environmental activists. He spoke in detail about his interrogations and the strange questions he had been asked. Iran's domestic media had reported, during Marchal’s detention, that he had enjoyed constant access to the French Consulate; in fact, Marchal said, he met them only five times, and under the full supervision of security agents. Marchal and the French consul never met privately and could only talk about his own detention, his health, and that of his family, and not even about the ongoing trial.

Marchal also repeatedly expressed his concern over Adelkhah's situation – particularly because the Islamic Republic does not recognize dual nationalities for Iranian. His concerns have now been justified with the six-year prison sentence against Adelkhah.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly called the arrests of Adelkhah and Marchal “unacceptable" and insisted that France would not tolerate the jailing of its citizens. Iranian and French colleagues and friends of Adelkhah, as well as a number of members of the French academic community, have repeatedly protested against their arrest. The municipality of Paris also posted photographs of the two researchers in front of City Hall and said the images would remain until they are both released.

Analysts suggest that Adelkhah’s arrest was a continuation of the Islamic Republic's crackdown on social sciences researchers. Others believed that the arrests were signs of further restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic on its nationals in other countries. Observers also said that the move was intended purely to secure the release of Iranian prisoners held in the West – such as Ruhollah-Nejad.

Using foreign or dual citizen prisoners to secure prisoner swaps has a long history with the Islamic Republic. The release of French hostages in Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon against the release of Anis Naghash, the perpetrator of the failed assassination attempt of Shapur Bakhtiar in Paris; the release of Claudia Rice in Iran, against the release of Shapur Bakhtiar's killer, Ali Vakili; the release of American hostages in Lebanon in return for receiving American weapons during the Iran-Contra scandal; the release of four Iranian-Americans in exchange for seven Iranian citizens jailed in the United States being freed, as well as $400 million of Iranian blocked assets being released in the US; and the hostage-taking of the British ship Stina Impro in the Persian Gulf, in exchange for the confiscated Grace One Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar; all have been examples of Iran’s readiness to jail foreigners or dual citizens to secure the release of its citizens abroad.

Adelkhah’s dual citizenship seems to be the reason that Iranian authorities have sentenced her to six years in prison – even as Marchal has been freed and returned to France.

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