After almost a year of detention "Provisional" In Evin prison in Tehran, Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, 61, has been sentenced to five years in prison, his lawyer Saeid Dehghan announced on Saturday. Iranian justice has brought charges against the anthropologist "Rallies and collusion to act against national security" and "Propaganda" against the Islamic Republic. For this latest charge, the Franco-Iranian was sentenced to one year in prison, but if the sentence is confirmed on appeal, she will serve the longest sentence.
France has condemned this court decision, demanding the immediate release of the researcher. In a press release, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, denounced a conviction on Saturday " Politics ", who was "Based on no serious element or established fact". Tehran does not recognize the dual nationality of its citizens. As a result, this specialist in Shi'ism and a researcher at the Center for International Research at Sciences Po Paris has so far been unable to benefit from consular assistance from the French Embassy in Tehran.
"This conviction is illegal"
His lawyer, Saeid Dehghan, hoped for parole. For him, the conviction of Fariba Adelkhah is " disappointment ". Me Dehghan, who plans to appeal, had successfully proven his client's innocence on two other charges, " spying " and "Disturbing public opinion". "For us, this conviction is illegal, he explains. In the text of the verdict, there is not even a line of my plea. "
Fariba Adelkhah was arrested in Iran in June 2019 while conducting studies on the clergy in the religious city of Qom. His companion, the French researcher Roland Marchal, specialist in East Africa, had been arrested at the same time as her, at the Tehran-Imam Khomeini airport, while he was preparing to spend a vacation in Iran with Mme Adelkhah. Accused of wanting "Endanger national security" and of "Collusion with a foreign state", Roland Marchal was finally released in March, without a verdict against him.
In Iranian business analyst circles, the most common assumption is that Iran is seeking to use Fariba Adelkhah to free one of its diplomats, Assadollah Assadi, who is incarcerated in Belgium. The man is accused of having been involved in the foiled attack on a June 2018 rally in Villepinte of the organization of the People’s Mojahedin, sworn enemies of Tehran.
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