Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French professor, has been freed from Iran’s notorious Evin prison, the French government has announced, albeit the terms of her release are unknown. Adelkhah has been imprisoned in Iran after she was detained by officials in 2019. Relations between Paris and Tehran have deteriorated in recent months due to the detention of seven French people in Iran, including her. Having been “unjustly held” at Tehran’s Evin jail, France “welcomed” the release, according to a statement released by the country’s foreign ministry on Friday.
The government stated in a statement, “It is crucial that all of Ms. Fariba Adelkhah’s freedoms are restored, including returning to France if she desires.” In the same statement, the French government reiterated its demand for the unconditional release of all French citizens now being held in Iranian prisons on charges of espionage or other offences. She has been released from Evin, according to a source close to Adelkhah who spoke on condition of anonymity to Agence France-Presse; however, it is unclear whether or not she will be allowed to return to France at this time. A five-year prison term was handed down to Adelkhah by the Iranian government in 2020 on allegations related to national security. Later, she was placed under home arrest, but in January she was sent back to prison. Adelkhah, a researcher at Paris’s esteemed Sciences Po university, claims that she is innocent, while France has branded her arrest “politically motivated” and demanded that she be released. Dozens of dual citizens and foreigners have been detained in recent years by members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, primarily on espionage and security-related allegations. Many human rights organizations claim that Tehran is using these detentions as a bargaining chip with other nations. Although it does not recognize dual citizenship, Iran insists it does not use detainees as bargaining chips in international relations. The day before Adelkhah’s release, Iran liberated seven women from Evin. A notable photojournalist, Alieh Motalebzadeh, has been imprisoned since April of last year, while an activist, Saba Kordafshari, has been detained since 2019 for her work against mandatory female hijab. According to Motalebzadeh’s Twitter post, Adelkhah was one of six inmates freed on Friday. A photo of a happy Adelkhah in a vehicle, presumably being transported away from prison, also went viral on social media.
Protests have erupted across Iran since September, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was jailed for allegedly breaking the Islamic republic’s stringent clothing standards and later died while in detention. As a result of the subsequent crackdown, diplomatic ties between Iran and the West were severed, as was the opportunity to negotiate prisoner releases. Farhad Meysami, a doctor and human rights activist who had been fasting for weeks in protest of the government’s response to the demonstrations, was freed on Friday, according to his lawyer. International alarm was sparked by pictures of his starved body during his protest.
