A young French academic on trial in Iran on charges of spying was allowed to return to the French Embassy after questioning, rather than prison, a French official said.
Clotilde Reiss went before a judge Tuesday and "left freely for the embassy," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.
Court made no decision and the judge would summon the 24-year-old academic soon for further questioning, Valero said.
Reiss is one of more than 100 people in a mass trial, following her arrest in connection with post-presidential election protests in Iran. In August, she was handed over to the embassy after paying bail but was barred from leaving Iran.
A week ago, Iran refused to provide assurances that Reiss would not be returned to Evin prison, where she spent a month-and-a-half following her arrest.
France's foreign minister had wanted guarantees from the Iranians that she would be released after the hearing to the French Embassy.
Reiss told her father, Remy Reiss, the atmosphere was better at Tuesday's court hearing than during her trial earlier this year.
"She's doing well and is satisfied with the atmosphere around the court hearing, which was more positive than last time," Remy Reiss, told Associated Press Television News in Paris.
"We are very confident about the outcome," he said, adding that friends and family hope the case "will be resolved within the two coming months."
