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Australian, French Academics Held in Iran go on Hunger Strike

AFP

   PARIS - Two French and Australian academics held in Iran over espionage
   charges have gone on a indefinite hunger strike as of Christmas Eve,
   France's Sciences Po University confirmed.

   "The Ceri confirms the hunger strike started by Fariba Adelkhah and her
   cellmate Kylie Moore-Gilbert," the Centre for International Studies and
   Research at Sciences Po University said in a Wednesday tweet.

   "On this Christmas day, our solidarity and thoughts of hope go to
   Fariba, Roland and all the other prisoners in arbitrary detention.
   #FreeFariba #FreeRoland," it added.

   A specialist in Shiite Islam and a research director at the university,
   Adelkhah's arrest over "espionage" was confirmed by Iran in July.

   Melbourne University Academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert's detention was
   confirmed in September as charged with "spying for another country",
   but her family said at the time that she had been detained for months
   before that.

   In an open letter, the two women said they were subjected to
   "psychological torture" and called for international solidarity in the
   name of "academic freedom".

   "We will strike on behalf of all academics and researchers across Iran
   and the Middle East, who like us have been unjustly imprisoned on
   trumped up charges," read the letter sent to the New York-based Center
   for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

   "We have been in the custody of Iran's Revolutionary Guards for an
   extremely long period, Kylie Moore-Gilbert for over 15 months, and
   Fariba Adelkhah for over 7 months. We have been subjected to
   psychological torture and numerous violations of our basic human
   rights," it added.

   The matter is of "deep concern" to Australia, its Foreign Affairs
   Minister Marise Payne told AFP, calling for Moore-Gilbert to be treated
   "fairly, humanely and in accordance with international norms".

   "I continue to believe that the best chance of a successful outcome for
   Dr Moore-Gilbert is through diplomatic channels," she said, adding
   "very hard work" is being done behind the scenes to secure her release.

   In addition to the two women, foreign nationals still held in Iran
   include former US soldier Michael R. White, British-Iranian mother
   Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and French academic Roland Marchal.