TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that Iranian scholar Mahdiye Esfandiari, who was imprisoned in France, has been released on parole. She spent a total of 237 days in prison.
Esfandiari went missing in early March 2025, and after not being able to contact her for a long time, her family reported her disappearance to Iranian authorities. After remaining silent for nearly a month, French judiciary finally broke its silence in early April 2025 and acknowledged her detention.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office accused her of “glorifying terrorism” and social media-related crimes. In her post, she condemned the genocide in Gaza and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people. No evidence of wrongdoing has been presented, and the charges against her lack any factual or legal basis, making the case highly questionable and suggesting that this is neither a standard criminal case nor a true civil rights issue.
Iran’s Ministry of Justice spokesman Askar Jahangir recently said the French government had failed to fulfill its promise to release Esfandiari. “They said at one point that if a suitable location was designated, they would release her and hold her there. The Iranian embassy in France complied, but France refused to honor that promise,” Jahangiri added.
“In our opinion, supporting the Palestinian people and expressing opposition to the genocide in the Gaza Strip is a legitimate act that is consistent with the protection of human rights and cannot be considered a crime,” the spokesperson said.
France’s imprisonment of Esfandiari is believed to have been part of a broader campaign to crack down on pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide activists. The arbitrary and illegal detention of Iranian scholar Esfandiari in France has revealed a new dimension of “double standards” and “political hypocrisy” in the so-called homeland of human rights and freedom of expression.
This particular incident has gone beyond a personal issue and has become a global symbol exposing the deceptions of the West. The Iranian woman was held in a prison outside Paris for several months without any legal basis before being released on parole.
The news came as Paris and the Iranian government are negotiating the release of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who are imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of espionage, in exchange for the release of Iranian national Esfandiari, who has been falsely accused of praising terrorism.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently said in a television interview that an agreement to exchange French prisoners and Iranian academics was nearing the “final stage”. He reiterated this in a phone call with Esfandiari after Esfandiari was released on parole.