Today, both Iranian and Canadian authorities confirmed that Homa Hoodfar, an Iranian-Canadian retired professor, has been released from prison and flown out to Canada via Oman.
Hoodfar, 65, is a former anthropology professor at Concordia University in Montreal, and an expert on gender and Islam. She was arrested on June 05, 2016, while visiting family and was detained for unspecified on charges.
“We welcome the long overdue release of Dr. Hoodfar and we are relieved that she will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues. However, like hundreds of other political prisoners and detainees in Iran, Dr. Hoodfar should have never spent a single day behind bars,” said United for Iran Director Firuzeh Mahmoudi.
“Iran currently has at least 991 political prisoners and detainees. They were overwhelmingly put behind bars after legal procedures that fell much below international standards for fair procedures. The release of Dr. Hoodfar highlights the need for Iranian authorities to review the cases of all political detainees,” Mahmoudi added.”
Iran holds at least nine more dual-citizen Iranians including Siamak Namazi, Baquer Namazi, Robin Shahini, Nizar Zakka, Robert Levinson, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Saeed Malekpour, Nazak Afshar, and Roya Saberi Negad Nobakht.
“Vast majority of the nearly 1000 political prisoners in Iran do not receive the international support and attention that dual-nationals receive. The Iran Prison Atlas aims to support the forgotten and unknown political prisons alongside with these detainees,” said Mahmoudi.
Iran Prison Atlas, a United for Iran project. is the most current and comprehensive database of Iran’s political prisoners.
Iranian state-run news agency IRNA reported Hoodfar’s release was given on “humanitarian grounds.”