A group of French, Arab and international human rights activists held a large rally in the French capital, Paris, in solidarity with Iranian scholar Mahdiye Esfandiari.
The recently paroled Iranian was detained in France for nearly eight months simply because he supported Palestinians and the Palestinian cause on social media.
During the rally, demonstrators accused France and other European governments of double standards on free speech. Demonstrators shouted slogans calling for Esfandiari’s unconditional release.
She went missing in early March 2025. After remaining silent for nearly a month, French judicial authorities finally broke their silence and confirmed that she was detained in early April 2025. Esfandiari was granted “conditional release” last month.