A look at some Iranian-Canadians who have been detained in Iran

Here is a look at her case and that of some other Iranian-Canadians who’ve been detained in Iran:

Homa Hoodfar — Her family says she travelled to Iran in February to see relatives and conduct academic research. The retired Concordia University professor was first arrested in March, just before she was to return to Canada, and released on bail. Re-arrested on June 6 and held at Evin prison until September.

Zahra Kazemi — The freelance photographer was arrested in 2003 while shooting images of a protest outside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. She was detained by authorities at the same facility, tortured and sexually assaulted by officials and later died of her injuries. Her body was never returned to Canada. Events surrounding death triggered deterioration in relations between Canada and Iran.

Hamid Ghassemi-Shall — The Toronto was businessman was arrested on espionage charges in 2008 while visiting relatives in Iran. He was sentenced to death the following year, but was released in September 2013 and returned to Canada.

Hossein Derakhshan — The blogger was imprisoned from 2008-14. He is credited with igniting a blogging movement in Iran by posting simple online instructions on how to create sites in Farsi in 2001, earning the moniker “The Blogfather.” In 2010, court sentenced him to more than 19 1/2 years in prison for his writings. His term was later reduced to 17 years. He was pardoned by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Maziar Bahari — He was arrested June 21, 2009, during a government crackdown to silence protests that erupted over disputed election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The journalist and documentary filmmaker was released on $300,000 bail and allowed to leave to join his British wife in London that October. His release came after spending 118 days without charge in the Evin prison. He was sentenced in absentia in 2010 to 13 years in prison and 74 lashes for espionage.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

A look at some Iranian-Canadians who have been detained in Iran

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