Princeton continues to support graduate student imprisoned in Iran

Princeton University issued the following statement Thursday, Aug. 17, regarding Xiyue Wang, a Princeton graduate student conducting dissertation research in Iran who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after having been accused of espionage.

Iranian authorities have denied Xiyue Wang's appeal of his conviction and 10-year prison sentence for espionage that he did not attempt or commit. We are distressed that his appeal was denied, and that he remains unjustly imprisoned.

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.

Mr. Wang was not involved in any political activities or connected to any government agencies; he was simply a scholar conducting historical research. He went to Iran as a doctoral candidate in our Department of History, studying Eurasian languages and regional governance practices across multiple Eurasian countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In connection with his doctoral research he traveled to Iran solely to study Farsi and to examine historical documents from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.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.

The University also issued on Thursday, Aug. 17, a statement from Mr. Wang's wife, Hua Qu, at her request.

The University has compiled a list of answers to commonly asked questions on the Xiyue Wang case.

The University issued a statement July 16 after the Iranian judiciary announced Mr. Wang's conviction and sentencing. The University issued an updated statement on Nov. 27.

The University posted a story July 28 based on an interview in which Hua Qu discussed her husband's upbringing, scholarly work and their family. A version of the story in Chinese is also available.

The American Council on Education and 31 other higher education and research associations have issued a statement urging Mr. Wang’s return home and more than 1,400 researchers from 37 countries have signed a petition also calling for his safe return​​​​​​.

A Chinese translation is provided below.

普林斯顿大学继续声援被在伊朗被拘博士生

通讯办公室

2017年8月17日, 下午3点43分

8月17日，普林斯顿大学发表声明，声援前往伊朗从事博士论文研究、被伊朗当局指控间谍罪并判处十年监禁的普林斯顿大学博士生王夕越。

伊朗当局目前已驳回王夕越对其所承受罪名和长达十年的监禁提起的上诉。我们对此以及他本人继续遭受的不公正监禁感到痛心。

王先生因遭关押，已与他妻子和四岁的儿子分别长达一年多时间。学校希望伊朗当局能够释放王先生，让这位真正的学者能够继续学业，也让一位忠诚的丈夫和父亲得以与家庭团聚。我们会继续尽全力支持王先生和他的家人，并致力寻求途径促成他安全返回。

王先生并没有参与任何政治活动或者与任何政府机构有关联；他只是一位从事历史研究的学者。王夕越作为我校历史系博士候选人前往伊朗，其专业研究方向是欧亚语言以及十九世纪末至二十世纪初多个欧亚大陆国家的地方治理。他此行的目的仅仅是为了进修与他博士研究相关的波斯语、并查阅十九世纪末至二十世纪初的历史文献。他预先向伊朗当局以及将要访问的图书馆与档案馆提交了研究计划，所提出借阅的资料也只限于博士论文所必要的范围内。

另见：

1. 本校于八月十七日（星期四）所发布的王夕越先生妻子曲桦的个人声明链接。
2. 本校为王夕越一案所编纂的常见问答列表链接。
3. 本校于七月十六日伊朗当局宣布对王夕越定罪并判刑后发布的声明链接。
4. 本校于七月二十八日发表的一篇报道，其中有王夕越妻子曲桦接受采访，谈及王夕越的个人成长、学术经历及其家庭情况。链接

5. 美国教育理事会（American Council on Education）及其他31家高等教育及研究机构就本案发表声明，呼吁促成王夕越早日归国。链接

6. 来自25个国家的千余名学术科研人员签名情愿，呼吁王夕越安全归国。链接