Two imprisoned researchers: We have been subjected to psychological torture
Kylie Morgilbert and Fariba Adelkhah, two Australian and Iranian academic figures who have dual citizenship and have been in Evin Prison for months, have gone on a hunger strike, saying they were imprisoned solely for their academic activities.
Kylie Morgilbert and Fariba Adelkhah, two Australian and Iranian-French academics imprisoned in Evin Prison on charges of “espionage,” have announced their hunger strike in an open letter and called for support for this protest. The two have been in prison for 15 and 7 months, respectively.
In a letter published on Christmas Day, December 24, they said that they were subjected to psychological torture and deprived of many of their basic rights during their detention.
Ms. Adelkhah and Ms. Morgilbert have called on their friends, family, and supporters to join the hunger strike in support of “academic freedom,” writing that they are taking this action on behalf of researchers and academics in Iran and the Middle East who have been unjustly imprisoned solely for their research activities.
Part of the letter states that the support of the international community gives them energy to continue the struggle.
Kylie Morgilbert, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who was arrested in Iran in the fall of 2018, has been sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of espionage. She holds dual Australian-British citizenship. A spokesperson for the judiciary announced in her weekly press conference on September 17 that she was arrested for “spying for another country,” adding: “Of course, she is also accused of spying for her own country, which is a final decision for the court.”
The Australian Foreign Minister described the prisoner's case as very complex and said that efforts and negotiations for his release are continuing.
Fariba Adelkhah, a sociologist and researcher at the Paris Foundation for Political Science Studies, who holds Iranian-French citizenship, was arrested in June 2019 at her home in Tehran.
In early December, the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported that “Fariba Adelkhah is being tortured,” to the point where “even her cellmates can hear the sounds of her harassing interrogations.”
The French newspaper Le Figaro previously speculated that the Islamic Republic may have intended to arrest Adelkhah in exchange for Jalal Rouhollahnejad, who is being held in France and whose extradition is being sought by the United States. Rouhollahnejad was arrested in Nice while traveling to France to purchase an industrial system. Two federal judges in South Carolina have charged the Iranian engineer with attempting to purchase industrial microwave systems and anti-drone systems for shipment to Iran.
Source: DW
