Fariba Adelkhah, the French-Iranian anthropologist who spent years imprisoned in Iran, has finally returned to her homeland, bringing to an end a harrowing chapter of her life that had garnered international attention and calls for her release. The announcement of her return was made by the political sciences institute Sciences Po on Wednesday (October 18).
Adelkhah, a respected academic, and researcher was apprehended by Iranian authorities in 2019 on security charges, sparking outrage and concern among human rights organisations and the academic community.
Sciences Po disclosed that Adelkhah, who had been released from prison in February, has now safely arrived in France after an extended period of detainment in Iran. Her initial release in October 2020 had placed her under house arrest, where she continued to serve part of a five-year sentence. However, her hopes for complete freedom were dashed when she was re-imprisoned in January 2022, the institute informed.
Adelkhah was initially charged with engaging in propaganda against Iran's political system and conspiring to undermine national security.
Upon learning of her return, Mathias Vicherat, the director of Sciences Po, expressed his elation, saying, "After she has been deprived of her freedom for so long, what a thrill it is to welcome back our colleague Fariba, a symbol of our battle for academic freedom. I look forward to seeing Fariba back at Sciences Po, her home, soon."
French President Emmanuel Macron played a pivotal role in advocating for Adelkhah's release. He engaged in a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday during which he emphasised the importance of Adelkhah's return and urged the release of three other French nationals who remain detained in Iran, according to a statement by the French presidency.
Adelkhah's fellow researcher at Sciences Po, Roland Marchal, who was also arrested in Iran on June 5, 2019, experienced a different fate. Marchal was freed in 2020 in what appeared to be a prisoner exchange. His release came shortly after French authorities freed Jalal Ruhollahnejad, an Iranian engineer facing US charges of attempting to illegally export US technology to Iran.
This case is part of a broader pattern where the Iranian government has occasionally released European nationals from its prisons, often seen as part of diplomatic maneuvers and negotiations for various concessions and favors.
Earlier this year, two more French citizens, Benjamin Briere and Bernard Phelan, the latter holding dual French-Irish nationality, were released from an Iranian prison in Mashhad, located in northeastern Iran.
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