Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian Anthropologist, was reportedly detained in June on a visit to Iran. Dr. Adelkhah is a researcher at Sciences Po, an elite French research institute focused on Social Sciences and Political Studies.

French authorities have asked for consular access and more information on Adelkhah’s current status, which Iranian authorities have yet to provide. The arrest of a prominent academic such as Adelkhah is a continued pattern of Iranian authorities that wrongfully detain dual nationals on charges of espionage.

Dr. Adelkhah is known for her fieldwork in Iran and research on post-revolutionary Iranian society. In her most celebrated work, Being Modern in Iran, Adelkhah asserts, “to be modern in Iran is to set oneself up as a moral being in a relatively precise context.” Unfortunately, her immoral detention reflects a growing crackdown inside Iran.