US student sentenced to 10 years in Iranian prison after being convicted of espionage

Xiyue Wang, an American citizen and graduate student at Princeton University, was in the region conducting research for his PhD

Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-American Princeton graduate student poses for a photo at an unknown location (AP)

A Chinese-born American citizen has been sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of spying in Iran.

Xiyue Wang, an American citizen and graduate student in history at Princeton University, was arrested last summer while doing research in connection with his PhD dissertation.

The exact details of the trial have not been released but Mr Wang was arrested and put on trial for “gathering information”.

The 37-year-old’s current field of study is late 19th and 20th century Eurasian history and he was looking into the cultural history of Iran.

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, said a US citizen who was also a national of a second country had been convicted for being “an infiltrating American agent”, according to Mizan Online, the judiciary's official news agency.

“He had entered the country through a special connection but the ministry of intelligence identified him and arrested him,” Mr Mohseni-Eje’i said.

“It became clear that he was involved in the infiltration project and the initial court has sentenced him to 10 years but this could be appealed.”

Mr Wang will now have 20 days to appeal the sentence and officials at Princeton said they are working with his family and lawyer to secure his release.

The US State Department called for the immediate release of all US citizens in jail in Iran.

“The Iranian regime continues to detain US citizens and other foreigners on fabricated national-security related changes,” a statement said.

“The safety and security of US citizens remains a top priority. All US citizens, especially dual nationals considering travel to Iran, should carefully read our latest travel warning.”‎