Second French academic detained in Iran since June

Paris, Oct 16 (AFP) A prominent French academic has been in detention in Iran since June, when he was arrested with his Franco-Iranian colleague, a researchers' group announced Wednesday. Roland Marchal, a sociologist whose research focuses on civil wars in Africa, and Fariba Adelkhah, an anthropologist, both work at the Sciences Po university in Paris.

The FASOPO association, of which they are both members, announced Marchal's detention on its website, saying it had remained quiet about his arrest at the request of French authorities until the story was reported on Tuesday by French newspaper Le Figaro. It said that "discretion had seemed preferable to the French authorities, who immediately began working, at the highest level, to obtain the liberation of our colleagues..."

The French government, it said, had wished to prevent the issue becoming a reason for "nationalist flare-up" in Tehran. The FASOPO had alerted France of the pair's disappearance on June 25.

The association said it supported the French government's decision to keep quiet given the experience of foreign colleagues "who found themselves in the same situation" and who had found Western media reporting "either useless or, worse, counter-productive." Adelkhah's arrest was confirmed by Tehran on July 16. The reason for her detention has not yet been made public.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Paris had repeatedly requested that she be given consular access and be set free. Iranian authorities, who do not recognise dual nationality, had railed against the "unacceptable interference" of France in the matter.

FASOPO said that Marchal was arrested after arriving in Iran from Dubai to celebrate the Muslim feast of Eid with Adelkhah. It said he was known "for his strong stances that reflect his uncompromising quest for intellectual honesty and humanistic values."

Iranian-born Adelkhah is a specialist on Shia Islam who has written extensively on Iran and Afghanistan. (AFP) IND IND

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)