Fariba Adelkhah (; born 25 April 1959) is a French-Iranian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and academic at

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

who was detained in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

from 2019 until 2023.

Early life and career

Born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Adelkhah studied in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, first at Université Strasbourg II and then at the

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (, EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The school awards Master and PhD degrees alone and conjo ...

. In 1990, she obtained a "very honourable" mention for her Ph.D. thesis on women in Iran, "an anthropological approach of post-revolutionary Iran: the case of Islamic women" (''Une approche anthropologique de l'Iran post-révolutionnaire. Le cas des femmes islamiques''), with Jean-Pierre Digard as her advisor. Since 2004, she has been a Research Director at the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques. As a researcher at the Centre for International Research of Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), she authored a number of publications on

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. She is a member of the scientific council of the periodical ''

Iranian Studies Iranian studies ( '), also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It is a part of the wider field ...

'' and of ''Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée''.

Imprisonment in Iran

On 14 July 2019,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

-language media from outside of Iran reported that she had been arrested in Iran. Her arrest would date back to 7 June, when she last connected to her

WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...

account. The Iranian Human Rights website ''Gozaar'' stated that she had been arrested by the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

and was being detained at

Evin Prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

. French authorities stated that Adelkhah was being denied access to consular assistance, and are demanding access to their citizen. In June 2019, Adelkhah's Sciences Po colleague Roland Marchal was also arrested in Iran when he came to visit her. On 7 February 2020, their lawyer said the two had petitioned prison authorities to allow them to get married. Marchal and Adelkhah were reportedly to go on trial on 3 March 2020 but it was postponed due to

COVID-19 pandemic in Iran The COVID-19 pandemic in Iran has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. On 19 February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of infections in Qom. The virus may have been brought to the country by a merchant from Qom ...

. Marchal was released on 20 March 2020 as part of a prisoner swap, but no verdict was reached on the case of Adelkhah. On 16 May 2020, the 15th Chamber of the Tehran Court sentenced Adelkhah to five years' imprisonment for conspiring against national security, and one year for propaganda against the state. During her trial, she was represented by Iranian lawyer Saeid Dehghan. Although Adelkhah is French-Iranian, Iran does not recognise this dual citizenship, and so continues to deny her access to French consular services. Sciences Po is in contact with the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs to campaign and raise awareness for Adelkhah's release. On 12 January 2022, Adelkhah's Paris-based support group, announced that her house arrest was over and she had been re-imprisoned at Evin. She was released from Evin prison again on 10 February 2023. In October 2023, Adelkhah returned to Paris and was welcomed at Sciences Po on October 20.

Works

* ''Ramadan et politique'' Paris : CNRS éditions, 2000. , * ''Guerre et terre en Afghanistan'' Aix-en-Provence PUP, Presses Univ. de Provence 2013. , *''Dubai, cité globale'' Paris : CNRS, 2001. , * ''Les mille et une frontières de l'Iran: Quand les voyages forment la nation'' * ''El estado del mundo'' * ''Un péril islamiste?'' (Interventions) (French Edition) * ''The Moral Economy of the Madrasa: Islam and Education Today'' (New Horizons in Islamic Studies) * ''Thermidor en Iran'' (Espace international) (French Edition) Bruxelles: Complexe, 1993. , * ''Etre moderne en Iran'' (Recherches internationales) (French Edition) Paris : Karthala, 1998. , *''La révolution sous le voile: Femmes islamiques d'Iran'' * ''Voyages du développement : émigration, commerce, exil'', Paris : Éd. Karthala, 2007. , * ''Les mosquées : espaces, institutions et pratiques'', Aix-en-Provence : Presses Universitaires de Provence, 2009. ,

Works in English

* ''Being Modern in Iran'' (The CERI Series in Comparative Politics and International Studies) London: Hurst & Company, 2000. , * ''The Thousand and One Borders of Iran: Travel and Identity'' (Iranian Studies) London: Routledge, 2015. , * ''The Moral Economy of the Madrasa'' (New Horizons in Islamic Studies: Second Series) London; New York: Routledge, 2011. ,

References

External links

* at www.sciencespo.fr
Curriculum Vitae
at www.sciencespo.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Adelkhah, Fariba Iranian women archaeologists 1959 births Living people French people imprisoned in Iran Inmates of Evin Prison Iranian emigrants to France Iranian anthropologists Iranian women anthropologists French women anthropologists 20th-century Iranian scientists 20th-century Iranian women scientists 21st-century Iranian women scientists