Reuters - France on Saturday demanded immediate release of French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah.

“This sentencing is not based on any serious element or fact and is thus a political decision,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We are urging Iranian authorities to immediately release Mrs Adelkhah.”

Iran has sentenced Adelkhah to six years in prison on national security charges, her lawyer said earlier on Saturday.

Reporting by John Irish, Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Pravin Char