Iran Urges France to Stop Meddling in Iran’s Affairs
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman called on the French government to stop meddling in the Islamic Republic’s internal affairs, saying that judicial issues are pursued independently in Iran.
Seyed Abbas Mousavi said on Friday as it has been repeatedly stated, the French officials must be aware that judicial processes in Iran are followed up independently.
Accordingly, he added, the case of Iranian citizen Fariba Adelkhah has been subject to an independent and fair judicial process.
"She has been convicted with regards to the crime she has committed and is serving her sentence," he said.
"Political pressures and propaganda campaigns cannot disrupt the implementation of the sentence. We hope that the French authorities will pay attention to this," Mousavi added.
The statement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron posted a new tweet demanding the immediate release of Adelkhah, a 60-year-old anthropologist and researcher at Sciences Po’s Center for International Studies (CERI) in Paris, who was arrested in Iran in June 2019 on an espionage charge.
Macron said on Twitter that Adelkhah’s arrest had been arbitrary, a claim rejected by Tehran.
The French president also warned that Adelkhah’s continued imprisonment in Iran would affect French-Iranian relations.
Iran does not recognize dual citizenship and judicial laws affecting dual citizens arrested in the country. However, authorities in Tehran say prisoner swaps with other countries are possible on humanitarian grounds provided that such exchanges respect Iran’s judicial independence.
