Roland Marchal, the French researcher freed last month after more than nine months imprisoned in Iran, detailed on Monday the conditions of his confinement, with only the occasional book, odd visit or exchanges with other inmates to keep him sane.
In his first public statements since returning to France as part of a prisoner exchange, Mr Marchal said the isolation was worse than the interrogations.
"I was not physically tortured, but I suffered greatly from my confinement, and above all, my isolation," he said in a written message transmitted by his support group of friends and colleagues.
"Much more than the interrogations, it is confinement – very different to the type imposed on us because of the coronavirus – which proved very painful," he said.
"Only the books... to which I had partial access, and friendships struck with a few inmates allowed me to hold on in a universe where each day resembles the previous and the next," Mr Marchal said.
Imprisoned in Iran since June last year, Mr Marchal was freed on March 20 after France released an Iranian, Jalal Rohollahnejad, who was facing extradition to the United States on accusations he tried to smuggle materials into Iran in violation of US sanctions.
Mr Marchal and his partner, fellow researcher Fariba Adelkhah, were detained on accusations of plotting against national security. The pair, who work at the Centre for International Studies at the prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris, have denied the charges.
Ms Adelkhah remains in jail. She has both French and Iranian citizenship, but Tehran does not recognise dual nationality.
Mr Marchal said he had been able to see Ms Adelkhah "only three times" during his imprisonment, each time for a few minutes and "under strict surveillance of interrogators".
He became aware only afterwards that she went on a hunger strike that lasted 49 days to protest against Iran's detention of researchers. Ms Adelkhah stopped her protest in February at the urging of her support committee after her health deteriorated sharply.
Mr Marchal thanked everyone who contributed to his liberation, and who are "continuing to mobilise for Fariba's" freedom.
Iran, the Middle Eastern country most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, has reported more than 60,500 infections, a figure that some foreign experts suspect is an underestimate.
The country's prison inmates have been hit particularly hard.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
AVOID SCAMMERS: TIPS FROM EMIRATES NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
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Torque: 370Nm
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The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
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The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
