Khaberni - A French court today, Thursday, convicted Iranian citizen Mahdia Esfandiari of "glorifying terrorism" through posts on social media and sentenced her to 4 years in prison, including one year enforceable, with a permanent ban from entering French territories and an order to leave the country.
After her release, Esfandiari (39), a student residing in Lyon since 2018, left the courtroom. She had spent 8 months in pre-trial detention, while her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, announced his intention to appeal the verdict, describing it as "harsh."
Boudi said after the session: "If the court has issued this harsh verdict based on diplomatic considerations, it may have made a mistake," adding that he will appeal the decision "hoping for a verdict based on legal and factual elements."
In response to whether his client would remain in France during the appeal, he simply said, "We'll see, I don't have a final answer yet."
"Axis of Resistance"
Esfandiari was arrested last year following online posts praising the "Operation Al-Aqsa," carried out by Palestinian resistance factions against settlements around Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The French prosecution accused her of creating content on accounts named "Axis of Resistance" in 2023 and 2024 through platforms such as Telegram, X, Twitch, YouTube, and a website managed by another defendant of French nationality.
According to the French prosecution, the content included "glorification of terrorist acts and incitement to them, defamation based on origin, race, or religion, and affiliation with a gang of criminals."
Esfandiari acknowledged that the idea of creating the "Axis of Resistance" network was hers, but she denied authoring the posts attributed to her. She also argued that Operation Al-Aqsa was "an act of resistance" and not "a terrorist act."
Esfandiari said: "Children were killed, women were killed, and Palestinian hostages were taken, and the October 7 attack was a logical response to all that," adding that "it is not a terrorist act, but an act of resistance."
Possible Exchange with Iran
This case coincides with Tehran's interest in exchanging Esfandiari for two French nationals detained in Iran, Cecile Kohler (41 years old) and Jacques Paris (72 years old). They were arrested in May 2022 and sentenced in October 2025 to 20 and 17 years in prison, respectively, for spying for Israel.
Kohler and Paris were released last November, with a travel ban preventing them from leaving Iranian territories, where they currently reside in the French Embassy in Tehran.
The French press quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying that an agreement was reached for a prisoner exchange between Tehran and Paris, mentioning that legal procedures in both countries were awaiting completion before implementation.
Araghchi stated: "The exchange of prisoners can take place based on national interests, and the process is determined within the framework of Iran's Supreme National Security Council."
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, Pascal Confavreux, stated that the two French nationals detained in Tehran "are well and safe," affirming the independence of the French judiciary in its ruling on Esfandiari.
These developments occur amidst significant uncertainty in the Iranian file, with the continued intensive American military presence in the Middle East and Washington's threats to resort to military options should negotiations fail regarding Iran's nuclear program.
