Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 26, 2026
1 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleOn Feb 26, a Paris court convicted Iranian student Mahdieh Esfandiari of glorifying terrorism over posts praising Hamas. She got 4 years, with 3 suspended, was ordered to leave France, and plans to appeal.
PARIS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A French court on Thursday convicted an Iranian national of glorifying terrorism in social media posts.
* The court sentenced Mahdieh Esfandiari, a student living in the city of Lyon, to four years in prison. Three years of the sentence were suspended.
* Esfandiari was ordered to leave France. Her lawyer described the ruling as "severe" and said she would appeal.
* Esfandiari arrested last year for social media posts that praised Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel.
* France is trying to bring two of its citizens back from Iran.
(Additional reporting by John Irish; Writing by Makini Brice; editing by Richard Lough, Alexandra Hudson)
A French court in Paris convicted Iranian student Mahdieh Esfandiari of glorifying terrorism for social media posts. She received a four-year sentence with three years suspended and was ordered to leave France.
Prosecutors said her social media activity praised Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, constituting glorification of terrorism under French law. Her defense plans to appeal the ruling.
The case unfolds amid strained France–Iran relations, as Paris seeks to bring home two French citizens held in Iran, adding diplomatic sensitivity to the verdict and potential next steps.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
