France Says Iran Hasn’t Given “Satisfactory” Response to Questions About Detained Dual National
Iranian-born French scholar Fariba Adelkhah has been detained in Iran since June 2019.
Fariba Adelkhah Among at Least Eight Other Jailed Iranians With Foreign Residencies
While confirming reports that Iranian-born French scholar Fariba Adelkhah is currently detained in Iran, the French Ministry noted that it has not received a “satisfactory” response to requests for information about her case or for her to be given consular access.
“The French authorities were recently informed of the arrest of Fariba Adelkhah,” the ministry said in a statement on July 15, 2019. “France calls on the Iranian authorities to shed full light on Mrs. Adelkhah’s situation and repeats its demands, particularly with regard to an immediate authorization for consular access. No satisfactory response has been received until now.”
Adelkhah’s case is among at least eight other known cases of Iranians with foreign residencies currently imprisoned in Iran.
Iran says it does not recognize dual nationality but has offered to exchange dual nationals in prisoner swap deals with other countries.
Adelkhah, an anthropologist and senior research fellow at France’s prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris, was arrested on espionage charges at an unknown date in June 2019 by agents of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the London-based Iran Wire website.
On July 16, an Iranian judicial official confirmed her arrest without providing more information.
“This person was detained recently … but due to the nature of the case, this is not the proper time to give any information about it,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said during a live broadcast on the judiciary’s website. “More transparent information will be provided as the case progresses.”
On July 14, Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei was asked about the reported arrest but said he was not aware of details.
“I am only aware that a person was arrested yesterday but don’t know about the charges, the reasons or who arrested this person,” Rabiei said at a press conference.
In November 2017, Reuters reported that at least 30 dual nationals had been arrested in Iran since the signing of the nuclear deal in July 2015.
Lebanese-born US resident Nizar Zakka was released on June 11, 2019, after serving four years in Tehran’s Evin Prison.
