An Iranian woman who said she experienced emotional and social isolation in France has been accused of orchestrating an online hate campaign targeting Iran's adversaries.
Mahdieh Esfandiari appeared in a Paris court on Tuesday in a case that has attracted attention because her return is sought by Tehran in exchange for two French citizens. She faced charges of "glorifying terrorism online" and "online incitement to an act of terrorism". She faces seven years in prison and a €100,000 ($116,450) fine.
Wearing a pastel scarf and grey dress over a pair of jeans, the 39-year-old cut a defiant figure as the trial, expected to last four days, got under way.
"I'm here today to finally speak about the facts, as there have been a lot of wrong stories about me in the media and a lot of lies," she said before entering the courtroom.
Resistance account
A self-proclaimed admirer of late Iranian Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani, Ms Esfandiari is accused of being behind a pro-Iran, pro-Hezbollah and pro-Hamas online group that featured a Telegram account called Axis of Resistance and had 12,000 subscribers, court documents viewed by The National said.
The account described sported an image of Maj Gen Suleimani a
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