On October 16, 2019, France confirmed that a second French academic is being detained in Iran. They have condemned the arrest as “an unacceptable situation.”
Roland Marchal was arrested in June at the same time as Fariba Adelkhah [LINK], a dual French and Iranian citizen, according to France’s Foreign Ministry. Sciences Po professor Richard Banegas, who has worked closely with Marchal, said that the arrest occurred when Marchal, a sub-Saharan African, visited Iran to see Adelkhah. According to Banegas, Marchal and Adelkhah were in a romantic relationship. It's unclear what charges the researchers face. Banegas told The Associated Press that he and colleagues consider Marchal "an academic prisoner."
As we reported previously, on July 15, President Macron expressed concern for Fariba Adelkhah’s well-being after his government said she had been denied contact with consular staff. Marchal’s arrest, however, had not been made public until recently, as the French authorities were seeking to work discreetly for his release.
In a published statement Sciences Po emphasized that [the two researchers] “activities are strictly academic and have no links whatsoever to any intelligence service and (they) do not carry out any political activity in Iran.” Therefore, “nothing justifies the arrest of Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal.”
Adelkhah and Marchal join a string of foreign and dual nationals to be detained in Iran, most sharing citizenship with Western countries and many arrested on arbitrary espionage charges. Those detained include Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian professor of Disaster Medicine (EMDM), and Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-American researcher at Princeton University.
Iran does not recognize dual nationality.
Both Marchal and Adelkhah are said to be held in Tehran’s Evin prison.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide deplores the ongoing detention of Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal and calls upon all international organizations, academic and professional associations, and other groups and individuals devoted to the promotion and defense of human rights to protest and condemn these arbitrary incarcerations; to call for their immediate and unconditional release; to urge the officials of the Iranian government to end the tactic of taking of dual foreign citizen scholars and students hostage for political gains; and to respect, guarantee, and implement the provisions and principles of human rights.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide is deeply concerned about the recent arbitrary detention of foreign and dual nationals in response to their exercise of the rights to academic freedom, free expression, and free association, conduct that is expressly protected under international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both to which Iran is a party. The ongoing tensions in Iran have a profoundly unsettling effect on academic freedom and represent a grave threat to higher education on an international scale.
Please send appeals to the following:
President Hassan Rouhani
The Office of the President
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Javad Zarif
Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Minister’s Office
Imam Khomeini Square
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 66743149
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.ir
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jzarif
Kishore Singh
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: sreducation@ohchr.org
David Kaye
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: freedex@ohchr.org
Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Thorbjørn Jagland
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: + 33 3 88 41 27 99
Philippe Boillat
Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law
Council of Europe
Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: + 33 3 88 41 27 99