Iran Denies Appeal Of Princeton Student Accused Of Espionage, University Says

PRINCETON, NJ — Iran has denied the appeal of a Princeton University graduate student who was arrested, tried and convicted for spying, the university announced on Thursday. Xiyue Wang claims he was conducting dissertation research in Iran when he was arrested. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges.

“We are distressed that his appeal was denied, and that he remains unjustly imprisoned,” the university said in a statement. “Mr. Wang has already been kept apart from his wife and four-year-old son for more than a year. The University continues to hope that the Iranian authorities will allow this genuine scholar, devoted husband, and caring father to return to his doctoral studies and his family. We will continue to do everything we can to be supportive of Mr. Wang and his family, and of efforts to seek his safe return home.”

“I am devastated that my husband’s appeal has been denied, and that he continues to be unjustly imprisoned in Iran on groundless accusations of espionage and collaboration with a hostile government against the Iranian state,” Wang’s wife, Hua Qu said in a separate statement released by the university at her request. “Our young son and I have not seen Xiyue in more than a year, and we miss him very much.”

It is the second statement Hu has released since her husband was sentenced in July. Wang went to Iran as a doctoral candidate in the university’s Department of History, studying Eurasian languages and regional governance practices across multiple Eurasian countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the university maintains.

Wang is accused of of scanning 4,500 documents and attempting to access confidential information in Tehran.

“Mr. Wang was not involved in any political activities or connected to any government agencies; he was simply a scholar conducting historical research,” the university said. “In connection with his doctoral research he traveled to Iran solely to study Farsi and to examine historical documents from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He described his research plans in advance to the Iranian authorities and the libraries and archives he planned to visit, and he only sought access to materials that he needed for his dissertation.”

Qu and their son are Chinese citizens who have waited patiently while Wang was investigated, prosecuted and tried under the Iranian judicial system, she said.

“The past year has been extremely difficult for our family. We constantly worry about Xiyue’s health and well-being as he remains behind bars in a foreign country away from his family and loved ones,” Qu said. “This time has been particularly difficult for my toddler son, who misses his father very much, but is too young to fully comprehend why he is not able to see, hold, or play with his father. It is heartbreaking to hear my son constantly ask about his father’s return home.

“Xiyue deserves to be freed. We hope the Iranian officials can release him immediately so he can resume his studies at home and so that our family will be together again.”

The attached image of Xiyue Wang’s family was previously provided by Princeton University