Scholar defends Chinese-American researcher jailed in Iran

This 2009 handout photo released by a friend of Xiyue Wang, shows Xiyue Wang at his apartment in Hong Kong, China. Princeton University professor Stephen Kotkin, who advised Wang, a Chinese-American researcher sentenced to prison in Iran, defended his former student as innocent of all charges against him. Kotkin told The Associated Press by email that Xiyue Wang is a "remarkable, linguistically gifted graduate student" who studied governance in 19th and early 20th century Muslim regions. (Friend of Xiyue Wang via AP) This 2009 handout photo released by a friend of Xiyue Wang, shows Xiyue Wang at his apartment in Hong Kong, China. Princeton University professor Stephen Kotkin, who advised Wang, a Chinese-American researcher sentenced to prison in Iran, defended his former student as innocent of all charges against him. Kotkin told The Associated Press by email that Xiyue Wang is a "remarkable, linguistically gifted graduate student" who studied governance in 19th and early 20th century Muslim regions. (Friend of Xiyue Wang via AP)

By Associated Press July 17, 2017 4 min read

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A Chinese-American graduate student sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad is innocent of all charges against him, his advising professor at Princeton University said on Monday.

The university said separately that it is “very distressed” by the charges leveled against Xiyue Wang while he was carrying out scholarly research in the Islamic Republic. It has been working Wang’s family, the U.S. government, lawyers and others to secure his release, it added.

“His family and the university are distressed at his continued imprisonment and are hopeful that he will be released after his case is heard by the appellate authorities in Tehran,” the university said.

Iran’s judiciary announced Wang’s conviction during a routine press conference on Sunday; he was not previously known to be among the handful of Americans detained in Iran.

An article posted on Mizan Online, a website affiliated with the judiciary, said 37-year-old Wang was born in Beijing and entered Iran as a researcher. It described him as fluent in Persian.