Iran announces “conditional release” of Mahdieh Esfandiari in France
Iranian citizen Mahdieh Esfandiari has been conditionally released in France, Tehran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday in a statement.
Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei "welcomed the decision of the French judge to issue a ruling of release under supervision for Ms Esfandiari", the statement said.
France, which has not confirmed the decision, has discussed the release of Esfandiari with Tehran in exchange for a French couple detained by Iran.
Esfahandiari was detained in February on charges of promoting terrorism on social media platforms.
The Paris public prosecutor's office confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Esfahandiari was granted release under judicial supervision by a decision of the Paris criminal court, despite the public prosecutor's opinion.
Under judicial supervision, Esfahandiari will be required to report to the police station and will be banned from leaving the country until her trial begins early next year.
Baqaei said the ministry "will continue to exert efforts until this Iranian citizen is freed and able to return to her country."
Potential Prisoner Exchange
Esfahandiari's name has recently been mentioned as part of a potential prisoner exchange deal involving French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been detained in the Islamic Republic since 2022 on espionage charges.
Tehran considers Esfahandiari, a translator and a graduate of the University of Lyon who has resided in France since 2018, to be unjustly detained.
Her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, stated that the court found Esfahandiari's pretrial detention period to be "excessively long relative to the accusations" against her.
He noted that his client "eagerly awaits" her trial date to defend herself, adding, "We are satisfied, she will finally be able to prepare" her defense.
The Iranian Foreign Minister had announced in September that a deal to exchange Kohler and Paris for Esfahandiari was nearing its "final stage."
News regarding Esfahandiari comes two weeks after Tehran released French-German national Léonard Montéarlu, who was arrested in June.
