Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari has returned to Iran after being held in France for over a year, in what appears to be a detainee exchange between the two countries. Iran's state television reported on Wednesday that the "rights activist", sentenced to one year in prison for online comments supporting Palestine and the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, had arrived back in Iran.

Esfandiari, a University of Lyon graduate who had been living in France since 2018 and worked as a translator, was arrested in February last year on charges of promoting "terrorism" and released on bail in October. In a Wednesday broadcast, she told state television: "I think it's clear for everyone that there is no freedom of speech, at least not in France where I was. The court's ruling was very unjust."

Her release comes a week after French citizens Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, arrived in France after being held for more than three years in Iran. They were arrested by Iranian authorities in May 2022 but freed in November last year, after over three years in prison on espionage charges that their families vehemently deny. President Emmanuel Macron's office said their release was the outcome of a "long-term effort", but talks accelerated in recent weeks due to pressure from the US-Israel war on Iran, giving a sense of urgency to the situation.

While France did not explicitly acknowledge an exchange, Iran's state-run agency IRNA had previously stated that Tehran reached an agreement with Paris for the release of the French citizens in exchange for Esfandiari. This incident highlights the complexities in diplomatic relations and ongoing human rights concerns between the nations, amid broader geopolitical tensions.

Source: www.aljazeera.com