2nd French academic detained in Iran

A prominent French academic has been in detention in Iran since June, when he was arrested with his Franco-Iranian colleague, a researchers’ group announced yesterday. Roland Marchal, a sociologist whose research focuses on civil wars in Africa, and Fariba Adelkhah, an anthropologist, both work at the Sciences Po university in Paris. Adelkhah’s arrest was confirmed by Tehran on July 16. The reason for her detention has not yet been made public. French foreign ministry in a statement confirmed Marchal’s detention and said it strongly condemned his arrest.