Paris court jails Iranian over terror posts
2026-02-27 - 09:42
A criminal court in Paris handed Iranian citizen Mahdieh Esfandiari a one-year prison sentence and permanently barred her from French territory after convicting her of publicly endorsing terrorism in online posts tied to Oct. 7, 2023 — the date Israel launched its war on Gaza. According to Le Monde, the 39-year-old received a four-year term, with three years suspended. Sentence and legal context Prosecutors had requested the same overall penalty but indicated that additional incarceration was unnecessary because Esfandiari had already spent approximately eight months in pretrial detention. The court ultimately upheld the requested sentence structure, combining a custodial term with a lifetime expulsion order from France. French authorities alleged that Esfandiari promoted terrorism online and helped manage or finance social media accounts associated with the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” a loose regional alignment said to include Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, along with other anti-Israeli or anti-Western armed groups. During the trial, she acknowledged creating a Telegram channel but denied writing the specific posts cited by prosecutors. Diplomatic implications The ruling may carry diplomatic consequences for relations between France and Iran. Tehran has publicly indicated interest in exchanging Esfandiari for two French nationals — Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris — who were arrested in Iran in May 2022 on espionage charges, which their families have denied. Although both were released in November 2025, they remain subject to a travel ban inside Iran. In remarks to France 24 last November, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said an understanding had been reached in principle, pending completion of judicial proceedings in both countries. The case highlights the intersection of counterterrorism laws, freedom of expression debates and sensitive prisoner diplomacy between European governments and Tehran, at a time when broader regional tensions remain high.