From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Second French academic detained in Iran since June
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe Iranian government has been holding a second French researcher in custody for the past four months, according to his colleagues.
Roland Marchal, a sub-Saharan Africa specialist at Paris university Sciences Po, was arrested in June when he traveled to Iran to visit his partner, Fariba Adelkhah, according to Sciences Po professor Richard Banegas.
Iranian authorities disclosed in July that they had arrested Adelkhah, a prominent anthropologist who holds dual French-Iranian nationality, on charges that have not been made public.
Soutien à nos collègues Fariba Adelkhah et Roland Marchal, du @CERI_SciencesPo, détenus en Iran depuis juin 2019, dont les incarcérations sont arbitraires, scandaleuses et révoltantes ➡️ https://t.co/aO3BTDLUKv #FreeFariba #FreeRoland pic.twitter.com/Yjj9w0qaJi
— Sciences Po (@sciencespo) October 16, 2019
There was no immediate acknowledgement of Marchal’s arrest in Iranian state media.
It’s unclear exactly what charges Marchal faces, but Banegas told The Associated Press that he and his colleagues consider him “an academic prisoner.”
The French Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
— AP
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