An Iranian judicial official said on Sunday January 16 that the Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah had been reincarcerated again, confirming information revealed on Wednesday by her support committee in France.

“Unfortunately, (Fariba) Adelkhah deliberately violated the limits set during her house arrest dozens of times and, as a result, she was sent back to prison,” deputy head of the judiciary, Kazem Gharibabadi, was quoted as saying. Mizan, the Iranian justice information agency.

Fariba Adelkhah, 62, was imprisoned again while under house arrest since October 2020. She was arrested in June 2019 and then sentenced in May 2020 to five years in prison for undermining national security, what his supporters have always denied.

Kazem Gharibabadi regretted that the researcher ignored "repeated warnings from judicial authorities". 

Iran does not recognize dual nationality

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called the Iranian authorities' decision "totally arbitrary" saying that "the whole of France" was "mobilized for his release".

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had warned the day before that his reincarceration "could only have negative consequences" on bilateral relations and "reduce confidence" between the two countries.

Kazem Gharibabadi deemed these statements as "baseless", denouncing the interference of foreign countries in the Iranian judicial system.

"(Fariba) Adelkhah is a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran and we strongly condemn the intervention of other countries in the judicial process," he said.

Iran does not recognize dual nationality and treats those arrested as Iranian citizens. 

"It is very regrettable that the French authorities (...), despite their knowledge of the violations of (Fariba) Adelkhah, report unfounded information which is unacceptable", added Kazem Gharibabadi.

With AFP

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