President Nicholas Sarkozy has demanded the immediate release of a French academic detained in Iran on charges of espionage.

“Let me say in the clearest and simplest way possible: we demand the release of our compatriot. These accusations of espionage are pure fantasy and there is no reason for them,” Sarkozy said at a Tuesday news conference with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Paris.

“Kidnapping and holding French nationals under the pretext of espionage, no one can accept this.”

According to the French Foreign Ministry, Clotilde Reiss, 23, was arrested last week as she was about to leave Iran after spending five months studying at Isfahan University.

“I do not doubt for an instant that she will be released very, very soon,” said Sarkozy, adding that he disapproved of such 'methods'.

The French Foreign Ministry said on Monday it had summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest at Reiss' arrest.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner claimed Reiss' charges were related to pictures of Iran's post-election protests she had taken with her camera and sent by private email to her friend in Tehran.

France, along with several other members of the European Union, have sharply criticized the Iranian government's response to the opposition rallies, which erupted after the announcement of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the June 12 presidential election with almost two-thirds of votes.

Tensions mounted between Iran and the West when nine of local staff of the British embassy in Tehran were arrested. One of the detainees who worked as an analyst for the embassy is still in custody while the others have been released.

Diplomats say the European Union is mulling plans to temporarily pull out its ambassadors from Tehran in protest to the arrests; however, not all member states are in agreement.

Swedish officials, whose country is holding the rotating EU presidency, say moves by EU countries to summon Iranian ambassadors across the 27-nation bloc in a joint protest against the arrests has also led to progress.

AKM/DT