A French prosecutor has requested a four-year prison sentence for Mahdieh Esfandiari, a 39-year-old Iranian woman, on charges of “promoting terrorism” online. The charges relate to social media posts she allegedly authored about Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. After spending approximately eight months in pre-trial detention, Esfandiari was released in October 2025 ahead of her trial, which began this week. The verdict is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
The Charges and Arrest
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Mahdieh Esfandiari was arrested in France in February 2025. The arrest was linked to her alleged online statements concerning the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. French authorities accused her of writing posts for a channel named “Axis of Resistance” on platforms including Telegram, X (formerly Twitter), Twitch, and YouTube during 2023 and 2024.
Her arrest in early March 2025 was initially shrouded in mystery, with her family reporting her missing before learning she had been detained. She was held in pre-trial detention at the Fresnes prison near Paris.
Background of the Accused
Mahdieh Esfandiari is a 39-year-old Iranian citizen who has been living in Lyon, France, since 2018. There is some discrepancy regarding her profession; while Iranian authorities have referred to her as a university professor, French media and her own LinkedIn profile describe her as a French language translator.
Her family states that her activities involved translating and publishing news about Gaza and Palestinian issues into French for a Telegram channel. They argue this was a humanitarian effort to share widely reported news.
The Prosecution’s Request and Trial Details
The trial began this week, with timing reported to have been set long before recent protests in Iran. During the proceedings, the prosecutor requested a four-year prison sentence, with three of those years suspended. Crucially, the prosecutor stated there was no necessity for her to be imprisoned again, following her release from pre-trial detention in October.
In her court defense, Esfandiari stated she was involved with the “Axis of Resistance” project but did not author the posts in question. Regarding the October 7 attack, she told the court, “This is not a terrorist act, it is an act of resistance”.
Diplomatic and Legal Context
The case has drawn diplomatic attention. Iranian authorities have criticized France for a lack of transparency and consular access following Esfandiari’s arrest. Some observers and Iranian officials have suggested a possible link between her case and that of two French citizens imprisoned in Iran, framing it within a context of potential prisoner exchanges.
From: Le Monde