Wife Of Princeton Student Imprisoned In Iran Calls For His Release

PRINCETON, NJ — The wife of a Princeton University graduate student who was arrested, tried and convicted in Iran for spying is calling for his release.

Xiyue Wang, 37, a graduate student in the history department, faces 10 years in Iranian prison after he was found guilty by the Iranian government for being "an infiltrating American agent."

“My husband, Xiyue Wang, is one of the kindest, most thoughtful, and most loving men I have ever known,” Hua Qu said of her husband in a statement issued by the university on Tuesday. “He has been a devoted husband to me and a father to our four-year-old son. Our son has missed his father for more than a year of his young life, as my husband has been unjustly imprisoned for espionage that I know he did not and never would commit.”

Wang was born in China, but has citizenship of both China and the U.S. He is studying Eurasian history.

“My husband has long been deeply interested in 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history, and he was in Iran last summer solely for purposes of learning Farsi and doing scholarly research for his Ph.D. dissertation as a graduate student in history at Princeton University,” Qu said. “We fervently hope that the Iranian authorities will release him soon so that he can return home to his young family.”

However, Iran claims it is “clear that he was involved in the infiltration project.” Spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i has said the initial 10-year sentence can be appealed.

Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber said the university has been working to help free Wang and support his family, according to an Associated Press story posted by NBC New York. He was initially arrested and charged with providing information about Iran to the United States in August, but the university didn’t publicize the arrest because it was told that “doing so may harm Wang’s interests.”

The university first acknowledged his capture on Sunday, with a statement that was posted on its website.

“We were very distressed to learn that charges were brought against him in connection with his scholarly work, and to learn of the subsequent conviction and sentence. We cannot comment more at the present time, except to say that the university continues to do everything it can to be supportive of Mr Wang and his family," the university said in the statement.

His college professor said Wang, who is accused of scanning 4,500 documents and attempting to access confidential information in Tehran, had planned to visit Russia after Iran, according to the AP report.

See also: Iran Convicts Princeton Grad Student Of Spying

The attached images were provided by the family and released via Princeton University