Iran's Mahdieh Esfandiari, accused of glorifying terrorism, arrives for her trial in court on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, in Paris. MICHEL EULER / AP
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari, who was held in France for over a year, has returned home, Iranian state television reported Wednesday, April 15, a week after Iran released two French citizens.
"Mahdieh Esfandiari, a Palestinian rights activist, has returned to Iran after her release from prison in France," state television said.
Esfandiari's release came a week after French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who spent more than three years in Iranian prisons on espionage charges, arrived in France. Iran had previously suggested the couple could be freed as part of an exchange for Esfandiari.
Esfandiari, around 40 years old, was arrested in France in February last year on charges of promoting terrorism and released on bail in October.
