By Nahid Poureisa
The arrest and incarceration of Iranian academic Mahdieh Esfandiari in France is not an isolated incident but reveals a consistent and deliberate pattern of politically motivated crackdown against those who dare to speak up for truth and justice.
This pattern goes beyond censorship. It exposes the double standards in France’s approach to free speech: weaponized to serve the Empire and suppressed when used by the marginalized.
Back in 2015, the publication of blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by the controversial magazine Charlie Hebdo sparked massive outrage across the Muslim world.
Rather than acknowledging it and taking remedial measures, French President Emmanuel Macron came out in defense of the magazine’s “freedom of expression,” presenting satire and free speech as sacred French values, even at the cost of hurting the religious sentiments of billions of Muslims, including those inside his own country.
Fast forward to 2022: Masih Alinejad, a US-based rabble-rouser sponsored by the anti-Iran American lobby to orchestrate smear campaigns and spread disinformation aimed at destabilizing Iran, was very warmly received at the Élysée Palace.
Macron praised her role in fomenting riots in Iran, which he called a “revolution,” and publicly supported the so-called “freedom” for Iranian women. This was a clear signal of France’s strategic alignment in a broader hybrid war that seeks to psychologically and culturally undermine the Islamic Republic from within.
Now, in 2025, Esfandiari’s case plays out in the shadows of the same geopolitical theater.
She was suddenly arrested three months ago over a Telegram post expressing support for Palestine – her only “crime” being the defense of an oppressed people enduring nearly 20 months of genocidal war.
Without official summons or legal warrant, French police raided her home and subjected her to harsh treatment and harassment before arresting her.
At the same time, controversial Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was being honored at the Cannes Film Festival, not for confronting power or injustice or speaking against genocide, but for crafting narratives that fit comfortably within Western geopolitical interests.
As Gaza suffers under Israeli-American bombardment, Panahi’s focus on Iran portrays the nation that is actively resisting the Zionist entity as the villain, conveniently redirecting global attention from real human rights abuses and their perpetrators.
This contrast exposes a system that punishes those who speak for truth and justice and rewards those who align with Western strategic narratives.
Press TV website reached out to Bashir Biazar, a prominent Iranian music maestro who was also arrested in France last year over his pro-Palestine advocacy work.
He spoke about how the French government systematically targets supporters of Palestine, labeling them as terrorists and framing them under bogus charges.
Biazar was detained for a month over a little-seen Instagram post. France accused him of promoting terrorism. He said the charge was “unbelievable and shocking” and difficult for him to even comprehend.
According to Biazar, France is at the forefront of repressing those who support the Palestinian cause amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 54,000 since October 2023, most of them children and women.
He explained that these arrests and aggressive measures have no legal justification. That’s why there is never a proper judicial process—no formal charges, court hearings, legal pathways, and accountability.
The arrests happen suddenly, Biazar told the Press TV website, usually through early morning police raids that break down doors and terrorize residents.
This is exactly how Esfandiari was arrested, he added. There was no warning and no legal notice. For days, she didn’t answer her phone. Concerned friends visited her home but got no response. With help from firefighters, they forced entry and found her apartment ransacked.
Esfandiari was gone. The scene resembled a kidnapping. For nearly five weeks, there was no information about her whereabouts until a news report revealed her detention.
Biazar, who has closely followed the case, case Esfandiari had no communication with her family, and the Iranian embassy was also kept in the dark. Even her lawyer faced extreme obstacles. It took 50 days before he was finally allowed to meet her.
The French government wants to keep these cases out of the legal system because they are politically motivated, he noted, drawing on his own bitter experience in the country.
“These actions align with the interests of the Zionist regime, with full support from the French government. The charges are almost always the same: accusations of supporting terrorism. That alone shows this is not a legal matter – it is a political one,” Biazar told the Press TV website.
He said France claims to be the cradle of freedom of expression, and the French Revolution’s slogan championed free speech. However, during the Charlie Hebdo incident, even after the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) was repeatedly insulted, Macron said he understood why Muslims were upset but insisted that freedom of expression was France’s red line.
He fully backed the so-called “free speech,” even if it offended billions of Muslims worldwide.
“But now, after the Al-Aqsa Flood, any condemnation of the genocide in Gaza, even just expressing it online, is being dealt with most harshly by the French government. They are suppressing it completely,” he stated, exposing the hypocrisy of “free speech” in the European country.
“Mahdieh Esfandiari’s charge is simply defending Palestine via her Telegram channel. Her only “crime” is defending Palestine. This is a disgrace for France.”
The French government knows that if this case goes to court, there is no evidence, Biazar hastened to add, and that’s why they operate in secrecy, more like a “mafia kidnapping operation.”
“This secrecy proves the whole process is political. For 40 days, the French government kept her detention hidden. There is only a political solution: this hostage-taking must be shouted about in global media, and political pressure must be applied on France to free Mahdieh Esfandiari.”
These arrests, he remarked, achieve nothing except further embarrassing the French government.
“History will never forget the supporters of genocide. The bitter irony is inescapable: France, the proclaimed cradle of freedom of expression, enforces one of the cruelest paradoxes in modern times. Freedom exists only when serving Western interests,” said Biazar.
“Genuine calls for justice, liberation, and resistance are swiftly crushed, especially when voiced by Iran or Palestine supporters. France’s large Muslim population, which mourns and condemns the ongoing genocide in Gaza, faces harsh repression if they raise their voices.”
Just days ago, Esfandiari’s sister finally broke her silence. In her first interview, she revealed the harsh conditions Mahdieh is enduring in a French prison. She said Mahdieh is being forced to remove her hijab – where is her freedom in that?
For a Muslim woman who has worn hijab her entire life, such coercion is a form of psychological torture and a breach of the most fundamental right. She is being denied her most basic human rights and imprisoned alongside criminals, only because of her human and political beliefs.
Defending Mahdieh is not just about one woman’s freedom. It is about standing up against widespread political repression that punishes people for speaking the truth.
From Macron’s defense of offensive cartoons to his support for “regime change” charade in Iran, from covert arrests to the celebration of politically convenient artists, France’s selective use of “freedom” paints a disturbing picture.
It shows a country that manipulates the idea of free speech and weaponizes it to suit its interests, silencing voices of conscience while rewarding those who serve its agenda.
The campaign to free Mahdieh Esfandiari is a stand against this blatant hypocrisy, a call to justice for Palestine, and to be on the right side of history.
