French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah has finally returned to France after being held in Iran for over four and a half years. Adelkhah, who worked as a researcher on Iranian Shiite religion and politics at Sciences Po University, was arrested in June 2019 and convicted on national security charges that her supporters have described as absurd. Although she was released from prison in February, Adelkhah remained unable to leave Iran.

Breaking: French citizen Fariba Adelkhah who was unlawfully detained in #Iran on June 09, 2019 & released on Feb. 10, 2023 but unable to leave Iran, returned to France today.

Fariba is finally home after a long journey of suffering & injustice.

Welcome home Fariba!… pic.twitter.com/7vUImTxKB3

— Hostage Aid Worldwide (@HostageAid) October 18, 2023

However, she has now landed back in Paris, according to her employer, Sciences Po University, which had established a support group to advocate for her release. University director Mathias Vicherat expressed his excitement at welcoming Adelkhah back home, describing her as a symbol of their fight for academic freedom. Adelkhah was just one of around two dozen foreign nationals who were being held by Tehran as part of what activists and Western governments have characterized as a deliberate strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.

While several foreigners have been released in recent months, including five Americans in a complex exchange for billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, there are still around a dozen individuals, including four French citizens, who remain in Iranian custody. Cécile Kohler, a teacher, and her partner Jacques Paris, were arrested in May last year on espionage charges that their families vehemently deny.

Another French citizen referred to as Louis Arnaud, described by his family as an innocent traveler, was arrested in September. Additionally, a man identified only as Olivier is also being held. French President Emmanuel Macron has consistently expressed his deep concern over the detained individuals and their immediate release. In a recent call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Macron reiterated his concerns and urged for the release of the prisoners. Adelkhah, in a statement issued by her supporters, expressed her gratitude for finally being home but also expressed her thoughts for her fellow women prisoners at Evin prison in Tehran and her French compatriots who are still awaiting their freedom.

Adelkhah's release comes after her French colleague and partner Roland Marchal was released in March 2020 as part of a prisoner swap. Iran had freed Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who faced extradition to the United States over alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran. Adelkhah herself was sentenced to five years in prison in May 2020 for conspiring against national security. She was allowed home in Tehran from October 2020 with an electronic bracelet, only to be returned to jail in January 2022.

Adelkhah's return to France is a cause for celebration, marking the culmination of a long and arduous battle for her freedom. However, the plight of the remaining prisoners, both foreign and Iranian, continues to cast a shadow over the strained relations between Paris and Tehran. The international community will undoubtedly continue to press for their immediate release and call for an end to hostage-taking as a political strategy.