Wife of Princeton researcher held in Iran urges his release

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 18, 2017 1 min read

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The wife of a Princeton graduate student sentenced to 10 years behind bars in Iran is calling on authorities there to release him, saying he has been “unjustly imprisoned.”

Xiyue Wang’s wife, Hua Qa, made the plea in a written statement released Tuesday. She called Wang a “devoted husband” and said they have a four-year-old son.

Wang was arrested nearly a year ago but his confinement only became known Sunday when Iran’s judiciary announced his sentence, accusing him of “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad.

The Chinese-American dual national was in Iran doing research for his doctorate in late 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history.