Advisor Defends American Student Imprisoned in Iran

The advisor of Jieyue Wang, a Chinese-American student at Princeton University who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for 'illegal entry' and sending confidential information abroad, stated that this doctoral student is innocent. According to the Associated Press, Wang's arrest, which Iranian officials claim occurred about a year ago, was announced yesterday during the issuance of his conviction and prison sentence by Iran's judiciary. Princeton University has expressed serious concern over the arrest of this student, who was detained while conducting academic research in Iran. The university stated that it is working with Jieyue Wang's family, the U.S. government, lawyers, and others to secure his release. In part of its statement, Princeton said, 'His family and the university are extremely concerned about his continued detention and hope he will be released after the appeal court.' A report published on the website of Mizan, affiliated with Iran's judiciary, states that this 37-year-old student, born in Beijing, is fluent in Persian and entered Iran as a researcher. According to Mizan, Jieyue Wang holds both Chinese and American citizenship. The website reports that he has appealed the court's ruling and requested a retrial. It is reported that this student was arrested on August 8, 2016, on charges of sending confidential information about Iran to the U.S. State Department, the Shirin Research Center, and Bijan Masoud Rahmani at Princeton University, Harvard University, and the Iran Research Center at the British Institute. The website claims that Jieyue Wang seized approximately 4,500 pages of digital documents and paid thousands of dollars to access the archives he needed in the confidential sections of libraries in Tehran. Steven Kotkin, a professor at Princeton University and Jieyue Wang's dissertation advisor, defended his student in an email sent to the Associated Press. In part of the email, he stated, 'Wang is a valuable student with great talent in language. He is innocent of all the charges against him.' Mr. Kotkin added that the documents Jieyue Wang collected relate to a hundred years ago and said, 'He had spoken to me about his keen interest and enthusiasm for the wonders of ancient Persian civilization.' Princeton University stated in its announcement that Jieyue Wang was arrested while researching the Qajar dynasty, which pertains to his doctoral thesis on 19th and early 20th-century history in the Eurasia region. A brief biography of Jieyue Wang published on the Princeton Asian Studies website indicates that he was a visiting member of this department from 2008 to 2009, graduated with a bachelor's degree in South Asian Studies from the University of Washington, and studied Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. The U.S. State Department has not released much detail regarding Jieyue Wang's case but has asked the Iranian government to 'immediately release all American citizens who have been unjustly detained.' The U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Iran and has consistently warned its citizens planning to travel to Iran about the possibility of arrest or being prevented from leaving. In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the U.S. State Department said, 'The Iranian government continues to detain and imprison Americans and citizens of other countries on fabricated national security charges.' In this context, the U.S. has called for the swift release of its imprisoned citizens in Iran. Iran has sentenced another American to '10 years in prison on espionage charges.'