Trump Administration Demands Release of American Student and Other Prisoners from Iran
The Trump administration on Tuesday called for the release of “Xiyue Wang,” a researcher at Princeton University and American citizen, from Iran. Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, announced this in a statement.
Ms. Nauert stated on Tuesday, July 18: The Iranian regime continues to detain American citizens and other foreign nationals on fabricated national security charges.
The U.S. State Department spokeswoman said we are calling on Iran to release American citizens including Baquer and Siamak Namazi and “Xiyue Wang” and other unjustly detained prisoners so they can reunite with their families.
According to Ms. Nauert, reports have raised American concerns about the physical health of the Namazis and Wang, and Iran should immediately release all these American prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
On Sunday, Iranian judicial officials announced that the American researcher has been sentenced to ten years in prison on espionage charges.
Princeton University confirmed that the university’s researcher “Xiyue Wang,” who was born in China and is an American citizen, was pursuing his Ph.D. in history.
Mr. Wang is a four-year doctoral student in the Department of History at Princeton University.
According to Princeton University’s statement, he conducts research in the history of Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The statement adds: This American student was detained in late summer of last year while researching the administrative and cultural history of the Qajar dynasty for his doctoral dissertation. Since his detention, Princeton University has been cooperating with his family and the U.S. government to facilitate his earlier release.
Princeton University stated in its announcement that it rejects the charges against Mr. Wang and that they contradict his academic communications and activities. Princeton University and the student’s family hope that following the appeals hearing, he will be released from prison.
On Tuesday, Mr. Wang’s wife issued her first statement published by Princeton University, describing her husband as a kind man and saying they have a four-year-old son.
Ms. “Hua Au” noted in her statement that their son misses his father and has not seen him for over a year. According to Mr. Wang’s wife, he has done nothing wrong.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran, an independent organization based in New York, says at least 12 people of foreign nationality, mostly from Western countries, are imprisoned in Iran, and besides the Namazis, reference can be made to Siamak Kardan.
Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, says that while foreigners are allowed to travel to Iran, we have repeatedly seen them detained in a political game by hardliners to be used as hostages in negotiations with Western countries.
According to Mr. Ghaemi, the Rouhani administration is trying to present Iran as a free place for tourists, but the detention and imprisonment of foreign nationals and the political treatment of them by the judicial system sends a different message.
Source: Voice of America
