Overview
- The 39-year-old is on trial for apology of terrorism, direct online provocation to terrorism, public online insult based on origin or religion, and criminal association.
- Prosecutors say she supplied 2023–2024 content to Axe de la Résistance accounts on Telegram, X, Twitch, YouTube and a site linked to Alain Soral, including praise of the 7 October Hamas attack that drew an Interior Ministry referral.
- The prosecution did not seek re-incarceration, citing eight months already served in pretrial detention before her release under judicial supervision in October.
- For four co-defendants, the state requested prison terms of up to three years, and sought a €30,000 fine plus an arrest warrant for essayist Alain Soral, who did not appear.
- Esfandiari acknowledged creating the Axe de la Résistance channel but denied authoring the posts, as media and counsel raise the prospect her case could feature in talks over French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris held in Iran.