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Iranian authorities on Friday released from prison French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, who was first arrested in June 2019 and was serving a five-year sentence on national security charges vehemently denied by supporters, a source close to her said.
The source, who asked not to be named, told AFP Adelkhah had been freed from Tehran’s Evin prison but added it was not immediately clear if she would be able to leave her home and return to France.
Up until Adelkhah’s release, seven French citizens were being held by Iran, according to the French foreign ministry.
They are among two dozen foreign nationals campaigners say Iran has jailed in a strategy of hostage-taking to extract concessions from the West.
C’est avec bonheur et soulagement que nous annonçons la libération de notre chère collègue Fariba Adelkhah, détenue arbitrairement en Iran depuis plus de 3 ans. Otage des autorités locales, elle était une prisonnière scientifique. Merci à tous ceux qui ont permis sa libération.
— Sciences Po (@sciencespo) February 10, 2023
Last month Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had demanded the “immediate release of the seven French hostages arbitrarily detained” by Tehran in telephone talks with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Iran erupted into protests in September, following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress rules.
Adelkhah’s release comes a day after Iran freed a total of seven women from Even prison.
They included campaigner Saba Kordafshari, held since 2019 after she campaigned against the…
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Source : france24
