Call Script

Look up your representatives!

Legislative secretary: [Senator/Congressperson’s] office.

You: Hi, this is [Your Name] and I live in [your city, zipcode], and I would like to speak to [your representative/senator’s name] about Xiyue Wang [pronounced: SHEE-way Wohn-g] , the American student being unjustly detained in Iran.

Legislative secretary: [will either transfer you to someone or take your message themselves].

You: Thank you, I am a graduate student at [Your Institution] and I am calling to ask [Your Senator/Representative] to prioritize bringing home Xiyue Wang, the American citizen and Princeton University graduate student who has been unjustly imprisoned in Iran for over two years. The U.N. has stated that there is no legal basis for his imprisonment and has called for his immediate and safe release. I ask that [Your Senator/Representative] do what they can to end this humanitarian crisis and bring Xiyue home safely to the U.S. and his young family. Overall, we just ask that [Your Senator/Representative] use the powers of their office to help bring Xiyue home.

More specifically:

• Will your Senator/Representative write a letter to the Trump administration asking them to prioritize this humanitarian case?
• Will your Senator/Representative issue a public statement or social media post calling attention to his plight and call for Xiyue’s release?

Additional information – as needed/appropriate:

• Xiyue was researching the 19 th century Qajar dynasty as part of his graduate research in the history department of Princeton. Xiyue’s research plans were approved by Iranian authorities, and he was granted authorization by Iran to access national archives for his work.
• Xiyue had no involvement in Iranian politics or US-Iranian relations, but was detained and accused of espionage. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, and he is currently imprisoned in the infamous Evin prison outside of Tehran.
• No other American citizen has been held in Iran as long as Xiyue.
• The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has concluded that the government of Iran had “no legal basis for [Wang’s] arrest and detention,” that Iran committed “multiple violations” of his right to a fair trial, that his “deprivation of liberty is arbitrary,” and that he should be released “immediately.”
• Xiyue and his wife, Hua Qu, have a 5-year old son, Shaofan, who hasn’t seen his father in more than 2 years.

Legislative secretary: [may ask for your contact information].

You: [Your contact info, if you wish to be contacted]. Thank you for your time.