The Clotilde Reiss case, seen from the University of Isfahan

French academic Clotilde Reiss, 24, has been held in Iran for the last six months, accused both of stoking anti-government protests and of spying, following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s contested re-election in June. For the first time, a French journalist was allowed to travel to the University of Isfahan, where Reiss taught prior to her arrest. Here is an exclusive report by special correspondent Alain Chabod.

It was in Isfahan, Iran’s third largest city, that Clotilde Reiss was employed as a French teacher in February 2009, taking part in an exchange programme between France and Iran.

On the campus of the city’s University of Technology today, few students remember Reiss, and the political climate is tense - with foreigners often presented as enemies of the state.

Though Mehdi Bijari, a top administrator at the university, concedes that “there is a strong possibility that this is all a misunderstanding,” others are more suspicious.

One student interviewed said he thought Reiss, who speaks fluent Farsi, was “an informer” and cited television as his source.

France considers Reiss innocent. Since being released from prison on bail in August, Reiss has been staying at the French embassy in Tehran while she awaits the outcome of her case.

If found guilty, she could face five years in prison.