Fariba Adelkhah Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison; Paris Demands Immediate Release of Iranian-French Researcher

Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French researcher, to 6 years in prison. Lawyer Saeid Dehghan, representing Ms. Adelkhah, announced this on Saturday, May 17, to Reuters news agency.

Fariba Adelkhah is an Iranian-French researcher at the Foundation for Political Science Studies in Paris. Her final court hearing in Iran took place at the end of March.

According to Saeid Dehghan, Ms. Adelkhah has been sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of “assembly and conspiracy against security” and 1 year for “propaganda against the system.”

In response to Ms. Adelkhah’s conviction, France’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday condemning the ruling and demanding the immediate release of its citizen in Iran. The French Foreign Ministry’s statement says the conviction was issued based on a political decision.

Previously, Ms. Adelkhah’s lawyer stated that charges of “propaganda activities against the system” and “assembly and conspiracy against security” had been brought against his client.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization arrested Fariba Adelkhah in June 2019 in Tehran. Starting from early January of last year, she went on a 51-day hunger strike in protest of her imprisonment for conducting research activities.

The judge of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court is Abolqasem Salavati. Judge Salavati is one of Iran’s Islamic Republic judiciary officials who has been known since 2009 for issuing unjust sentences. He has been under U.S. sanctions since December 2019 on charges of human rights violations.

Source: Voice of America