Academic imprisoned in Iran returns to France

A YOUNG Frenchacademic flew home from Iran yesterday, 10 months after she was arrested and accused of spying, as France denied striking a secret deal with Tehran.

A government jet brought researcher Clotilde Reiss, 24, to an airbase outside Paris after her lawyer paid Iran a fine of more than a quarter of a million dollars, and she was whisked to the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Speaking briefly to reporters after her meeting with Sarkozy, she thanked the French leader for protesting her innocence and paid tribute to her former fellow detainees, two of whom were put to death.