Iran drops spy charges against researcher Fariba Adelkhah

Six months after his arrest, Iranian judicial authorities have dropped the charge of espionage against the Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah.

"The accusation of espionage has been dropped," his lawyer Said Dehghan announced on Tuesday (January 7th), welcoming the dropping of this count, which carries the death penalty. Fariba Adelkhah remains prosecuted for three other reasons, said Dehghan.

Fariba Adelkhah, an anthropologist specializing in Shiism, and Roland Marchal, a specialist in the Horn of Africa, both members of the Center for International Research (Ceri) at Sciences-Po Paris, have been detained in Iran since last June.

Fariba Abdelkhah, as well as an Australian researcher, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, started a hunger strike and unlimited thirst in late December in the Iranian prison where they are detained.

In an open letter to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), the two female academics said they had been subjected to "psychological torture" and "numerous violations of (their) human rights fundamentals ".

A rally in solidarity is organized Tuesday in front of Ceri, in Paris, by the colleagues of Fariba Abdelkhah.

Tuesday 07/01 at 3 p.m. - Gathering in solidarity with our two colleagues in front of CERI (56 rue Jacob Paris 6) - Come in large numbers and don't hesitate to circulate this invitation around you! #FreeFariba #FreeRoland pic.twitter.com/wK3zuVtPiR

With AFP

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