TEHRAN -- France’s arbitrary detention of Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari, who is a pro-Palestine rights activist, is a blatant violation of freedom of expression, an official said here Monday.
Esfandiari, a graduate of the University of Lyon and a translator, who has been living in France since 2018, disappeared in early March this year. Following diplomatic efforts, the Iranian government later confirmed that she was in police custody.
Deputy Secretary of the High Council for Human Rights Khosrow Hakimi, who is also an advisor to the Iranian Judiciary chief, criticized France for claiming to defend human rights but violating them in practice. 
France is a country that loudly proclaims its commitment to freedom, human rights, and republican values, claiming to be the cradle of freedom of speech, human rights, and human dignity, but there is a striking gap between these claims and the reality that many intellectuals have observed in the European country, he said.
He made the remarks here in a meeting focusing on the Western narrative of human rights.   
Systematic racism and religious discrimination, particularly against Muslim women and girls in France, impunity for human rights violators, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful protests, excessive use of force against peaceful gatherings, and institutionalized policies promoting xenophobia, Islamophobia, and other rights enshrined in international human rights instruments, all constitute systematic violations in France’s human rights record, Hakimi stated.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office announced that Esfandiari was being prosecuted on charges of 
terrorism and crimes related to social media activity, Hakimi said.
These charges specifically relate to content published on a Telegram channel, which was in support of Gaza, the Iranian official said. He added, that means France considers defending the oppressed people of Gaza and Palestine a crime.
The arbitrary detention of Esfandiari constitutes a violation of the right to freedom clearly stipulated in major human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, he added.