Who is Roland Marchal, the second French researcher arrested in Iran in June?

There is not one, but two French researchers retained in Iran since June. It had already been known since mid-July that Franco-Iranian Fariba Adelkhah had been arrested a few weeks earlier in the country presided over by Hassan Rohani. A second Frenchman, Roland Marchal, was arrested on the spot the same day as his colleague, said Wednesday the Fund for Analysis of Political Societies (Fasopo).

The information was revealed Tuesday evening, in an article of Figaro. "The authorities had asked us to remain silent, which we accepted because they have worked hard and tried to negotiate," said Parisian Beatrice Hibou, another member of Fasopo and very mobilized since the beginning to obtain the release of researchers French.

A specialist in sub-Saharan Africa

Roland Marchal, who lives in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, went to Iran to join Fariba Adlekhah, with whom he is "very close", according to Beatrice Hibou. The two researchers, members of the Center for International Studies and Research (CERI-SciencesPo), jointly participated in the writing of several books, including "Dubai: Global City".

But unlike his French-Iranian colleague, Roland Marchal is not a specialist in the Near and Middle East region. His work focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, including the economy and conflicts in the area. A good connoisseur especially of Somalia, he has published several books or review articles devoted to the security evolution and the emergence of the al-Shabaab terrorist movement in this country.

Roland Marchal is described by his two research colleagues Didier Peclard and Sandrine Perrot, in a short biography transmitted by Fasopo, as being "a man of the field, a tireless researcher, meticulous and demanding". "He is extremely upright and honest," adds Beatrice Owl.

The mystery still lies in the way the double arrest took place in Iran. Roland Marchal was reportedly arrested at the Tehran airport just after landing in early June. At the same time, without knowing whether it was before or after the day, Fariba Adlekhah was also arrested. But the reasons for their detention remain unclear.

No consular visits for Fariba Adlekhah

The two French would not benefit from the same conditions of detention on the spot. Roland Marchal, who has only French nationality, has already been entitled to "three or four consular visits," says Beatrice Hibou. This has allowed his fellow researchers to send him some books from Paris.

The news, however, is more fragmented for his colleague Fariba Adlekhah, to whom Iran does not recognize dual nationality and is therefore not entitled to visits by members of the French consulate.

The French authorities ensure work for the release of the two researchers and want the end "without delay" this "unacceptable situation" for Roland Marchal, they said Wednesday early afternoon.

This does not necessarily announce simple: Iran denounced October 4 an "unacceptable interference" after a request from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning Fariba Adlekhah.