France Protests Arrest of Ruhollah Zam and Continued Detention of Its Own Citizen in Iran

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the arrest of Ruhollah Zam by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. France also protested the continued detention of one of its researchers in Iran. This person was arrested in June alongside Fariba Adelkhah.

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, issued a statement strongly condemning the arrest of Ruhollah Zam. The statement criticized the continued detention of Roland Marchal, a French researcher, in Iran and described this action as “unacceptable.”

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Ruhollah Zam, founder of the AmadNews website, is officially recognized in France as a political refugee.

According to statements by Mahsa Razani, Ruhollah Zam’s wife, he was “abducted” by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Iraq and transferred to Iran.

Disclosure of a Frenchman’s Detention

Following a report published in the French newspaper Figaro, a French academic foundation confirmed that one of its colleagues named Roland Marchal was arrested in June (approximately four months ago) along with Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French researcher, in Iran.

The academic foundation FASOPO announced this news on its website, stating that it had remained silent in response to requests from French authorities regarding Roland Marchal’s detention in Iran. However, since this matter has become public with the recent Figaro newspaper report, there is no longer any reason to conceal it.

French authorities had hoped to be able to secure the release of the two detained researchers through negotiations with Iranian officials by avoiding the “national” aspects of the matter.

They stated that based on their experience, they have learned that publicizing arbitrary detentions in Iran not only fails to help the detainees but sometimes works to their detriment.

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has repeatedly requested Iranian authorities to establish consular contact with Fariba Adelkhah, but the Iranian government, which does not recognize dual citizenship, has considered this to be interference in its internal affairs.

Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal are both members of an academic research foundation. The focus of both researchers’ studies is the culture and traditions of Middle Eastern peoples and ethnic groups.

Source: DW