In Tehran on Saturday, Reiss’ lawyer Mohammad Ali Mahdavi-Sabet said she would be allowed to leave Iran after her sentence of “two five-year parallel (jail terms)” was commuted to a fine of $2,85,000. Reiss was arrested last July. Sarkozy’s office said 24-year-old Reiss was due to arrive in Paris.
Reiss, who had been out of jail on bail and staying at the French embassy, was accused of taking part in a Western plot to destabilise the Iranian government after the June 12 vote in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected.
Her case raised tensions between France and Iran, already at odds over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Reiss was arrested in Tehran in July when preparing to leave the Islamic Republic after working at the University of Isfahan for five months. She was among thousands of people detained over widespread post-election unrest.
Published 16 May 2010, 15:13 IST