Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian citizen accused of “glorifying terrorism” in France, has been released on parole.
Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism - The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday, October 10, that Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian citizen who was arrested in France in February on charges of "glorifying terrorism" on social media, has been released on parole.
The Paris prosecutor’s office, while confirming the issuance of a warrant for Ms. Esfandiari’s release under judicial supervision, emphasized that it had requested that she continue her detention.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, welcomed Esfandiari’s conditional release and announced in a statement that Tehran is pursuing his return to the country.
Ms. Esfandiari, who was born in Iran and has lived in France since 2018, graduated from the University of Lyon and worked as a translator.
Under the terms of Ms. Esfandiari’s release, she is required to report to the police station regularly and is not allowed to leave the country until her trial begins on January 13. She is also banned from accessing social media.
Ms. Esfandiari’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, confirmed that “the prosecutor had strongly opposed her release,” citing “the risk of flight.” “However, the court accepted our argument and found that the pretrial detention was excessively long given the charges brought,” Mr. Boudi said.
According to Mr. Bodi, Ms. Esfandiari has not yet commented on the nature of the charges and is “eagerly awaiting the court to be able to defend herself.” He added: “We are pleased because she can now prepare to defend herself.”
Mahdieh Esfandiari is due to face charges of “propaganda and incitement to terrorism online,” “spreading racial hatred,” and “criminal conspiracy” in court in January. The charges stem from an investigation into Telegram accounts called “Axis of Resistance.”
Freedom of speech in the West is regulated only within the framework of accepted principles and in line with the interests of Western governments. This is also seen in the definition of terrorism and the victim of terrorism. If, based on the interests of Western governments, a victim of terrorism is not considered a victim, anything said about it is classified as defending terrorism. This double standard has always existed and is more evident in times of crisis such as the events of the past two years in occupied Palestine.
