MADRID – In the photographs of Mahdieh Esfandiari that circulated in the media during her judicial process in France, one detail drew disproportionate attention. It was the veil. Not because a woman wearing hijab is an anomaly in contemporary Europe, but because of what that garment condensed in this specific case: an Iranian academic, educated at Lumière Lyon 2 University, facing a criminal court for words published on Telegram.