PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) The French Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday the detention by the Iranian authorities of French researcher Roland Marchal and promised to strive for his release.
Iranian authorities disclosed in July that they had arrested Franco-Iranian academic researcher Fariba Adelkhah, a prominent anthropologist and a research professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, which is commonly referred to as Sciences Po. Marchal, a sub-Saharan Africa specialist at Sciences Po, was reportedly arrested in June when he visited Iran to see Adelkhah.
"We confirm that Roland Marchal is currently being detained by the Iranian authorities. As in the case of Fariba Adelkhah, as soon as we were informed of his situation, we mobilized our efforts to gain his release. We had the opportunity to convey our strong condemnation to the Iranian authorities and to express our desire for clarification," the French Foreign Ministry's spokesman said at a briefing on Wednesday.
According to him, the French authorities have demanded from Tehran to allow consular assistance to Marchal.
"Our consul in Tehran has been able to visit him several times. He is receiving assistance from a lawyer," the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson expressed hope that Iranian authorities would demonstrate "transparency" in this case and immediately put this "unacceptable situation" to an end.
No official information has been provided regarding the reasons for detention of the researchers.
