Iran welcomed the conditional release of its citizen, Mahdieh Esfandiari, who was arrested in February for her anti-Israel posts and protests. On Wednesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that a French judge granted conditional release to Esfandiari.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that Tehran would continue to pursue the case of the 39-year-old Iranian academic until her complete freedom, PressTV reported.
France and Iran have considered releasing Esfandiari in exchange for a French couple, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, detained by Iran in May 2022, according to France24.
As part of her conditional release, Esfandiari is required to report to a police station regularly, prohibited from leaving the country, and banned from accessing social media pending a trial scheduled for January 13.
Who is Mahdieh Esfandiari?
Born in Iran, Mahdieh Esfandiari is an Iranian linguist and French language graduate. According to France 24, she has lived in France since 2018 and graduated from the University of Lyon.
After her graduation from Lumiere University, Esfandiari worked as a professor, translator, and interpreter. She is also known as a notable pro-Palestinian activist with a large online presence.
Esfandiari has a history of activism, participating in women's rights and human rights campaigns, and actively engaging on social media, particularly on West Asian issues. She has also attended pro-Palestinian protest rallies in France.
French arrest and accusations against Esfandiari
The Iranian academic was arrested in Lyon on February 28, 2025, and has been detained at Fresnes Prison in Val-de-Marne, south of Paris, since March 2. The Fresnes Prison is a notorious facility known for harsh and inhumane conditions and for housing dangerous criminals.
She was charged with "apologie du terrorisme" (public defense of terrorism) and other offences related to her social media posts, which French authorities claim were supportive of Hamas's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in October 2023.
Additional charges against her included "online provocation of terrorism, insults based on origin or religion, and refusal to provide access codes to her social media accounts."
The investigation was launched by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office on November 7, 2024, after she was placed in provisional detention. Esfandiari's family lost contact with her in late February, prompting Iranian authorities to seek her whereabouts. The French authorities confirmed her detention on April 12, 2025, citing her online activity, but the specific content of her Telegram posts remains undisclosed, making it challenging to assess the legitimacy of the charges.
While addressing local media inquiries regarding the disappearance in March, Baghaei said, "Unfortunately, we have learned that one of our citizens residing in France has gone missing in recent days, and so far, we have not received any specific information from the relevant French authorities regarding her status."
