French teacher Clotilde Reiss has arrived home from Iran, ten months after she was arrested and accused of spying and inciting anti-government protests.
A government jet brought the 24-year-old researcher to an airbase outside Paris after her lawyer paid Iran a fine of more than €200,000.
Speaking briefly to reporters after her meeting with President Sarkozy, she thanked the French leader for protesting her innocence and paid tribute to her former fellow detainees, two of whom have been put to death.
Her arrival brings to an end a long drama that raised tension between France and Iran as Ms Reiss spent six weeks in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
The release came shortly after a French court ruled against a US extradition request for an Iranian engineer.
However, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner insisted in an interview that there had been 'no haggling and no pay off' to ensure the release.
Mr Kouchner added that there had been no link between the French and Iranian cases.
Ms Reiss was arrested on 1 July after demonstrations against the results of Iran's disputed presidential election.
She was put on trial in August on charges of acting against national security.
At her first court appearance, Ms Reiss admitted taking part in anti-government protests 'for personal reasons' and writing a report for an institute linked to the French embassy's cultural service.
