Final court session for Fariba Adelkhah held
The final court session for Fariba Adelkhah, a dual French-Iranian citizen, was held under the supervision of Judge Salwati at the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Salwati stated that the final defense arguments for Ms. Adelkhah have been received and a verdict will be issued within the prescribed legal timeframe.
The Judiciary Media Center announced on Monday, the first of Ordibehesht, that the final court session for Fariba Adelkhah was held under the supervision of Judge Abolqasim Salwati in Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Judge Salwati stated regarding Adelkhah’s trial that the final arguments from Ms. Adelkhah have been received and “a verdict for this defendant will be issued within the prescribed legal timeframe”.
Fariba Adelkhah is a dual Iranian-French anthropology researcher who was arrested in Iran in June 2019 on charges including espionage, “propaganda against the system,” and “assembly and conspiracy against national security.”
The researcher was recently hospitalized in Evin prison hospital due to physical deterioration resulting from a hunger strike. Adelkhah’s lawyer stated that his client’s condition is concerning. Fears of contracting coronavirus have added to these concerns.
Adelkhah’s detention caused tension between Iran and France, and French officials, including the Foreign Minister and President of France, have repeatedly called on Iran to release Ms. Adelkhah as soon as possible.
The final trial session for Fariba Adelkhah was held two weeks after a telephone conversation between Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
Many dual-nationality individuals are imprisoned in Iran, including five Iranian-Americans. The Islamic Republic’s policy is to occasionally exchange some of these prisoners with other countries. In this regard, Iran has conducted prisoner exchanges with Germany, the United States, Britain, and France in recent months.
Roland Gabriel Marshall, the life partner of Ms. Adelkhah, who came to Iran last autumn to visit Adelkhah, was also arrested. However, he was released on the first day of Farvardin in exchange for the release of Jalal Ruhollahi Nejad, an Iranian engineer who had been arrested in France on charges of violating US sanctions, and was handed over to the French Embassy in Tehran, returning to his country on the second of Farvardin.
Marshall was also sentenced to five years in prison at the public and revolutionary courts of Tehran on charges of “action against national security.”
Source: DW
