An Iranian student has been released after nearly a year of detention, following a prisoner exchange with two French citizens accused of espionage.

The release of the young Iranian Esfandiari took place after two French citizens, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, accused of security offenses, were granted permission to leave Iran. Esfandiari was sentenced at the end of February for glorifying terrorism through anti-Israel posts on social media, serving nearly a year in prison. In an interview with Iranian state television, she stated that there is no freedom of expression, referring to the court's decision as unjust. The two French citizens, arrested in 2022, were sentenced to long prison terms for espionage in favor of France and Israel. French authorities negotiated their release in exchange for the Iranian student, demonstrating the complexity of international relations and justice in Iran.