By Damon Mitchell • Published: 06 Jun 2020 • 10:39
French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah marks one year imprisoned in Iran Credit-Twitter
Supporters claim that Adelkhah, an anthropologist who specializes in Shia Islam, is being used as a a pawn in a political game of chess since she was arrested on June 5, 2019. In May she was handed a five-year sentence after a conviction of charges against national security.
Adelkhah is one of many foreigners detained by Iran in what political activists believe as a policy of hostage-taking aimed at pressuring the West.
President Macron took to social media to air his opinion and called her custody “unacceptable” in a Twitter post. He went on to say that, “My message to the Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot be released immediately.”
Friday marked one year for Adelkhah behind bars, as a gesture of support, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo had her picture displayed on the capital’s city hall with the slogan: “Her fight for freedom is ours.”
However,Abbas Moussavi, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry cautioned that Paris should not interfere in the case. He said, “Mrs Adelkhah has been the subject of an independent and fair judicial procedure,” and added, “political pressure and media campaigns will in no way prevent the carrying out of her sentence.”
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