French-Iranian anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah imprisoned in Iran again

French-Iranian anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah has been re-imprisoned in Iran. Her support committee said in a statement: “It is with great shock and indignation that we have been informed that Fariba Adelkhah has been re-imprisoned and sent to Evin jail.”

The Sciences Po research director was arrested in Tehran in 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison on trumped-up charges, her colleagues said.

“The Iranian government is cynically using our colleague for external or internal purposes that remain opaque, and that have nothing to do with her activities,” the support committee added.

France’s foreign affairs ministry stressed that Abdelkhah’s conviction was “political and arbitrary” and demanded her immediate release.

The foreign ministry said in a statement: “We were astonished to learn that the Iranian authorities have decided, without any explanation or prior information, to re-incarcerate our compatriot Fariba Adelkhah. This decision can only have negative consequences on the relationship between France and Iran and reduce confidence between our two countries.”

Adelkhah had been under house arrest since October 2020 with an electronic bracelet.