Macron demands release of French-Iranian academic Adelkhah

France demanded on Friday that Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, whom Tehran has sentenced to six years in prison, be released immediately, saying her detention was harming trust between the two countries.

"One year ago, Farida Adelkhah was arbitrarily arrested in Iran. It is unacceptable that she is still in prison," tweeted President Emanuel Macron. "My message to Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot is immediately released." Iran does not recognize dual nationality and has rejected previous calls to release the 60-year-old anthropologist, detained since June 2019, saying the demands were interference in Tehran's internal affairs.

In March, the two countries carried out a prisoner swap, exchanging academic Roland Marchal for engineer Jalal Ruhollahnejad. However, since then there has been little sign that Adelkhah would be released and she was sentenced in May to six years in prison on security-related charges. "This ongoing situation can only have a negative impact on the bilateral relations between France and Iran, and can only significantly reduce the trust between our two countries," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement on Friday.

Relations between France and Iran have improved over the last year, but remain tense over Iran's nuclear activities, its ballistic missile program, and regional influence. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals in recent years, mostly on espionage charges.

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