On Christmas Eve Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert and Iranian-born, French academic, Fariba Adelkhah began a hunger strike for freedom for all researchers and political prisoners in Iran who have been unjustly imprisoned on fake charges. It has been suggested that academics worldwide write or go to Iranian Embassies in their countries and demand release of Fariba Adelkhah and Kylie Moore-Gilbert.
Their letter is below:
Open Letter by Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert and Dr. Fariba Adelkhah
To our families, friends and supporters:
On this day 24th December 2019 we will commence a joint hunger strike in the name of academic freedom.
We will strike on behalf of all academics and researchers across Iran and the Middle East, who like us, have been unjustly imprisoned on trumped up charges and simply doing their job as researchers.
To date, we have been in the custody of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards for an extremely long period, Kylie Moore-Gilbert for over 15 months, and Fariba Adelkhah for over 7 months. We have been subjected to psychological torture and numerous violations of our basic human rights.
We are striking not only to demand our immediate freedom, but to ask for justice for the countless, thousands, unnamed yet not forgotten men and women who have suffered the same fate as ours or worse, and have been imprisoned in Iran, having committed no crime.
This Christmas Eve, we ask you to join us for one day in foregoing food and water to express solidarity with us, while we will continue our strike beyond Christmas.
We hope we will be celebrating with you in more than spirit this time next year.
Thank you for your support.
It means the world to us and gives us the strength to keep fighting.
Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, University of Melbourne (Australia)
Dr. Fariba Adelkhah, Sciences Po (France)
Picture courtesy of The Center for Human Rights in Iran
Further information on Fariba Adelkhah: http://fasopo.org/sites/default/files/adelkhah/com_en.pdf