France's Macron calls on Iran to release jailed researcher

French officials say President Emmanuel Macron has called for the “immediate release” of a French-Iranian researcher imprisoned in Iran

PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron called for the “immediate release” of a French-Iranian researcher imprisoned in Iran, officials said Sunday.

Macron made the plea in a “long” phone call on Saturday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to a statement from the French presidency.

Fariba Adelkhah, a 62-year-old anthropologist, has been detained in Iran since June 2019. She had been under house arrest since October 2020, but was sent back to prison earlier this month.

Adelkhah was given a five-year sentence for “gathering and collusion” against Iran’s security. French authorities said her conviction is “purely political and arbitrary.”