Iran’s Judiciary on Returning Friba Adilkhah to Prison: France Should Not Interfere
A deputy of Iran’s Judiciary announced the return of Friba Adilkhah, an Iranian-French citizen, to prison for “violating the restrictions set for house arrest” and responded to a recent statement by France’s Foreign Ministry on the matter.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy for International Affairs of the Judiciary, on Sunday, December 26, referred to Ms. Adilkhah as “a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and stated that “her charges were reviewed through an independent judicial process in the competent court.”
Mr. Gharibabadi continued by stating the reason for Ms. Adilkhah’s return to prison as “violating the restrictions set for house arrest” and said that this prisoner, who was serving her sentence at home with an electronic bracelet, “deliberately violated the designated boundaries dozens of times and, despite warnings from judicial authorities, persisted in this action and was returned to prison due to violation of regulations and misuse of the situation.”
Friba Adilkhah was transferred to her home last year with an electronic bracelet and a bail bond to continue her sentence, but on December 22 of this year, she was returned to Evin Prison.
Hours after this incident, France’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement declaring that Ms. Adilkhah’s return “without any justification” or “prior notification” had occurred and demanded the immediate release of this dual-national prisoner.
Kazem Gharibabadi condemned France’s Foreign Ministry’s recent statement on the matter on Sunday, considering it “interference by other countries in the judicial process of the country.”
Friba Adilkhah, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Political Science in Paris, was arrested in her private residence in June 2019 after returning to Iran by the intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on charges of “espionage.” However, in April 2020, she was sentenced to six years in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, on charges such as “gathering and conspiracy with the intention of acting against national security” and “propaganda against the system.” This sentence was reduced to five years by the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeals.
Human rights groups accuse the Iranian government of using the detention of dual-national citizens as a tool to gain leverage in economic and diplomatic dealings with Western countries. Accusations that the Islamic Republic has consistently denied.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have repeatedly stated that being “dual-national” is not acceptable to the Islamic Republic and on this basis deny the existence of dual-national prisoners in Iran.
Source: Radio Farda
