WANA (Oct 23) – Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian citizen detained in France for 235 days on charges of supporting the Palestinian people, was conditionally released on Wednesday night (October 22) following a French judge’s ruling.

 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed the news, stating that Iran’s Embassy in Paris had been informed of the judge’s decision to grant Esfandiari conditional release.

 

According to the ruling, Esfandiari has been transferred from prison to a residence outside the facility and will remain under supervision until her court hearing in December.

Mahdieh Esfandiari was Released on Conditional Freedom in France. Social media/ WANA News Agency

 

Baghaei described the development as a positive step, expressing hope that it would pave the way for her full release in the near future. He added, “We welcome this decision by France and view it as a constructive move. I am optimistic that she will soon be fully released and return home.”

 

Mahdieh Esfandiari has been in detention since March 1, 2024, on charges of supporting the people of Palestine. She had traveled to France in 2018 with a student visa to pursue a master’s degree in French linguistics.

 

Esfandiari was arrested in Lyon on March 1 last year—just ten days before her planned return to Iran—for her activities on a Telegram channel supporting the Palestinian cause.

 

Earlier, Baghaei had described her arrest as an “arbitrary detention.” Deputy Foreign Minister Jalalzadeh also criticized France’s actions, saying that “Ms. Esfandiari has been taken hostage by a country that claims to be the cradle of freedom, simply for supporting the oppressed people of Palestine, including its women and children.”

A group of students attends a gathering in support of an Iranian student prisoner in France, Mahdieh Esfandiari, in front of the French embassy in Tehran, Iran, October 21, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)