Two years of detention of Fariba Adelkhah - In Defence of Freedom of Research
Abstract
It is hard to believe, but as of the 5th of June 2021 it has been two years since Fariba Adelkhah, Research Director at the CERI, was arrested in Iran, together with Roland Marchal, CNRS Senior researcher at the CERI. Roland was freed on the 20th of March 2020 following long and complex diplomatic negotiations, and after nine and a half gruelling months of detention. Unfortunately, Fariba is still detained against her will. Although her situation has somewhat improved since she was placed under house arrest in October 2020, she is still deprived the basic right to come and go as she wishes, and thus the right to leave Iran. She is still sentenced to a five-year prison term for “collusion to undermine national security”, a revolting sentence that the academic community at Sciences Po, but also in France and abroad, will continue to fiercely oppose.