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See here for the French versionWe havelearned through social networks that on December 24th Fariba Adelkhah, researchdirector at SciencesPo-Paris, went on unlimited hunger strike, together withanother Australian academic, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, imprisoned in Evin (Tehran) :https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2019/12/imprisoned-french-australian-academics-call-for-christmas-eve-hunger-strike-iran/Our twocolleagues demand justice for themselves, but also on behalf of all academicsarbitrarily persecuted in Iran and throughout the Middle East. According tointernal sources in Evin prison cited by the Center for Human Rights in Iran,they also demand their transfer to the common law prisoners' section of theprison – Fariba Adelkhah has been detained for 7 months, Kylie Moore-Gilbert 15months, in the Revolutionary Guards' section where they are subjected to"psychological torture" and "numerous violations of theirfundamental human rights", in their own words.We canconfirm from another reliable and direct source that Fariba Adelkhah did go onhunger strike on 24 December.She isfacing various charges: espionage, disinformation, propaganda against theregime, and other untruths that are not only baseless, but devoid of anycredibility. It appears that Roland Marchal, a CNRS researcher atSciencesPo-Paris, who was arrested at the same time as Fariba Adelkhah and isalso being held in Evin prison, is also about to be formally charged, probablyon the same fabricated basis.We reiterateloudly and clearly that our two colleagues have never engaged in any activitiesother than scientific and that they have always carried out their research withcomplete independence and integrity. Their personal journey is an embodiment ofthe freedom of science, which they are paying for today with their personalfreedom.We demandtheir immediate release, as well as that of all academics, whether Iranian andforeign, arbitrarily detained in Iran - there are, alas, many of them. Wereject in advance any political instrumentalization of their detention andrelease. Our colleagues are academic prisoners, and it is in that capacity thatthey must be released.We are, ofcourse, paying particular attention to the physical integrity of FaribaAdelkhah and Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who have gone on indefinite hunger strike andwhose lives are now in danger. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iranis responsible for them, as well as for the arbitrary detention they are beingsubjected to by one of its armed branches, which commits the Iranian Stateitself.We call on all of you to contact our elected representatives, institutions, and companies, and to ask for their support for the cause of our colleagues so that they may be given their freedom back.See the support messages from their friends and colleagues here