Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari has returned to Iran after more than a year of detention in France, according to reports from aljazeera.com.
Iran’s state television announced Wednesday that the rights activist has arrived home. Esfandiari had previously been sentenced to one year in prison following online comments supporting Palestine and the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Her return follows the recent release of two French citizens held in Iran on espionage charges. The movement of both individuals suggests a prisoner exchange between Tehran and Paris.
A dispute over free speech
Esfandiari, a University of Lyon graduate who worked as a translator in France since 2018, was arrested in February last year. French authorities charged her with promoting terrorism, though she was released on bail in October.
Speaking to state television on Wednesday, Esfancari criticized the French legal system. "I think it’s clear for everyone that there is no freedom of speech, at least not in France where I was. The court’s ruling was very unjust," she said.
Her release comes exactly one week after French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris returned to France. Both had been held in Iran for more than three years.
Iranian authorities arrested Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72, in May 2022. While Iran leveled espionage charges against them, their families denied the allegations.
French diplomats escorted the pair to the French mission in Tehran, where they remained under house arrest until their full release on April 7. They traveled from Iran through Azerbaijan to reach Paris.
President Emmanuel Macron’s office described the release of the two French citizens as the result of a "long-term effort." However, aljazeera.com reported that negotiations accelerated recently due to geopolitical pressures.
While France has not explicitly confirmed a formal exchange, Iran’s state-run agency IRNA previously indicated that Tehran reached an agreement with Paris to release the French citizens in exchange for Esfandiari.
