By Donald Gilpin

As tension mounts, with growing conflict and fears of war between Iran and the United States, Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang remains imprisoned in Iran after nearly three years, despite renewed calls for his release.

Earlier this month after Iran freed Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen and permanent U.S. resident who, like Wang, had been sentenced to a 10-year prison term for alleged espionage, Princeton Graduate School Dean Sarah-Jane Leslie issued a renewed plea for Wang’s release.

In a statement last month, three United Nations experts on human rights also called for Wang’s immediate release, claiming that his arbitrary detention violates his fundamental rights under international law.

“Iranian authorities’ use of espionage charges against Mr. Wang simply for having sought access to century-old historical documents reaches the level of absurdity,” said David Kaye, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; Javaid Rehman, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; and Jose Antonio Guevara Bermudez, chair-rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last summer called for Wang’s release because the government of Iran had no basis for his arrest, and, according to the Working Group report, Iran committed “multiple violations” of his right to a fair trial and arbitrarily deprived him of his freedom.

A naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in China, Wang went to Iran to study the Farsi language and conduct scholarly research for his doctoral dissertation in the Princeton University history department. He was studying documents on the Qajar dynasty of Iran from the late 19th and early 20th centuries when he was detained in Iran, an apparent victim of political maneuvering.

The UN experts said they are “deeply concerned about Mr. Wang’s deteriorated health situation and about the allegations of ill-treatment and placement in overcrowded and unhygienic cells.” They noted that Wang has been denied access to specialized medical treatment outside the prison despite multiple requests.

Zakka, who told The New York Times he had been imprisoned for the last two years in a cell in Evin Prison with Wang and dozens of other prisoners, said it was so crowded that each prisoner had a space only the size of a narrow rectangle, where they spent as many as 20 hours a day lying down with short breaks for food or fresh air.

According to The New York Times, Zakka said the two men were allowed writing material and Wang was eventually allowed access to some books. They had 15 minutes a day to talk on the phone, he said, and medical care was available, but slow to reach them.

“You will never see any place so horrible,” Zakka told the Times, as he described Wang’s condition as mentally sharp but physically tired.

“I told him that I will not leave him behind,” Zakka said. “I promised him that I will not rest until he’s freed. He’s a student, he was doing his research. Nothing justifies him being left behind.”

Leslie’s statement described Wang’s imprisonment as “a continuing heartache for him, for his wife and their young son, and for all of us in the Princeton community. We renew our urgent call for his release as we continue to do all we can, every day, to secure his homecoming. We yearn for the day he returns home, resuming his scholarly work and recovering from this unwarranted and agonizing ordeal in the loving embrace of his family and friends.”

The three UN experts concluded, “We deeply regret that individuals such as Mr. Wang, who choose to pursue research and academic work, are punished for their contribution to society. We urge the authorities to ensure his immediate release and to take serious steps towards protecting and recognizing these rights.”