Princeton University Holds Gathering for Freedom of American Researcher Imprisoned in Iran
Princeton University in the United States is holding a gathering to launch efforts for the release of Xiyue Wang, its doctoral student in history who is imprisoned in Iran.
The gathering, to be held on Wednesday, March 21, and featuring a speech by the university president, phone calls by attendees to congressional representatives, and sending cards to them, comes several months after a UN working group called for Mr. Wang’s release.
Xiyue Wang, who traveled to Iran with government permission to conduct research for his doctoral thesis, was arrested in the summer of 2016 while reviewing and studying documents related to the late Qajar era in Iran’s National Archives and was transferred to Evin Prison. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges in a closed-door trial.
Over the past two and a half years, in addition to the UN’s “Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,” U.S. government officials, university professors, and Mr. Wang’s family have repeatedly rejected the espionage charges against this history student and demanded his release.
Nevertheless, the appeals court last summer upheld the 10-year prison sentence for this prisoner.
Prior to that, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson had stated that Mr. Wang “entered Iran with special influence” and after it “became clear that he was engaged in gathering information,” he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges.
This is while Mr. Wang traveled to Iran on a student visa to conduct studies related to his doctoral thesis in the field of governance history. His thesis advisor also stated that Mr. Wang’s research was on documents related to the Qajar period and it is unclear how the Iranian government considered the study of documents from a hundred years ago to be espionage.
Following the announcement of this American student’s conviction, officials in President Trump’s administration condemned this action by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary and demanded his release.
Princeton University also released a statement from Hua Qiao, Xiyue Wang’s wife, in which she wrote: “He is not a spy but a linguist, a historian who loves Iranian culture, a faithful husband and a loving father.”
Mr. Wang’s detention has been instrumental in cooling cultural and academic exchanges between Iran and the United States.
The arrest of this Chinese-American researcher prompted a reaction from more than a thousand university professors and prominent historians from 34 countries around the world, including the United States, who called for Xiyue Wang’s speedy release by signing a statement.
In the latest reaction from President Trump’s administration, Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, in a post on Twitter on the occasion of the anniversary of the release of American diplomats held hostage in Iran, called on the Islamic Republic’s government to free Americans held hostage in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
