DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The wife of a Princeton graduate student sentenced to 10 years behind bars in Iran is calling on authorities there to release him, saying he has been "unjustly imprisoned."

Xiyue Wang's wife, Hua Qa, made the plea in a written statement released Tuesday. She called Wang a "devoted husband" and said they have a four-year-old son.

Wang was arrested nearly a year ago but his confinement only became known Sunday when Iran's judiciary announced his sentence, accusing him of "infiltrating" the country and sending confidential material abroad.

The Chinese-American dual national was in Iran doing research for his doctorate in late 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history.