French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, detained in Iran, has been sentenced to five years in prison, according to her lawyer. A court in Tehran sentenced her today for „conspiracy against national security,“ her lawyer Said Dehghan told AFP.
The anthropologist from the University of Sciences Po in Paris was also sentenced to one year in prison for „propaganda against the Islamic Republic“, according to her lawyer. However, she will probably only have to serve the longer sentence. Adelkhah wants to contest the verdict.
Burden on French-Iranian relations
Adelkhah and her friend and colleague, the French sociologist Roland Marchal, were arrested in Tehran in June last year. The case has since strained relations between Tehran and Paris.
Adelkhah has Iranian and French citizenship. Iran does not recognize dual citizenships. In January, the Iranian judiciary at least dropped the allegation of espionage against Adelkhah. The death penalty is on espionage in Iran. Her trial began at the Tehran Revolutionary Court in early March.
Marchal was released in March and returned to France. According to Iranian information, he was released during a prisoner exchange.
