Canadian prof Homa Hoodfar, jailed in Iran, falls ill in solitary confinement

A professor from Montreal who has beenimprisoned in Iran since Junewas recently hospitalized,is barely consciousand can hardly walk or talk,according to family.

HomaHoodfar, an anthropologistatConcordia University, is being keptinsolitary confinementnearly three months after her arrest in Tehran on June 6while on a personal and research visit to Iran, saidher niece, AmandaGhahremani.

• ANALYSIS |HomaHoodfar hostage, not criminal
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Hoodfar's family says Iranian authorities have refused regular visits by her lawyerand have tried to dismiss him. During his one visit in July, he was forbidden to discuss her case and has been denied all access to her legal file, the family said.

She has had only one other visitor, a few weeks ago, who informed the familyHoodfarhad been hospitalizedat one pointbefore being returned to her cell.

"It has become clear that the authorities are not prioritizing her health and do not intend to respect Homa's due process rights under Iranian law," Ghahremani said.

"We're incredibly scared."

We are so scared for her: Hoodfar's niece

8 years ago

Duration 5:22

Amanda Ghahremani tells of her 65-year-old aunt being sick in an Iranian prison under solitary confinement

Hoodfar is 65 and suffers from a rare neurological disease calledmyasthenia gravis, which causes severe muscle weakness.

We were asked by the Iranian judicial authorities to tone down the media onHoma's case. AmandaGhahremani, niece

Shewrites frequently on sexuality and gender in Islam.She went to Iran in February to see familyand conduct research in a visit thatcoincided with Iranian elections.

"My aunt is an academic. She's not an activist," Ghahremanisaid. "She has never violated any Iranian law. She's always worked within the parameters of the constitution and Islamic strictures."

Two days before her departure back to Canada in March, she was visited by the counter-intelligence unit of Iran'sRevolutionary Guards, who seized her computer and passport and told her not to leave the country. After interrogation at Evin prison in June, she was arrested and since then has had no contact with her family.

Iranian authorities have charged her with collaborating with a hostile government against national security and with propaganda against the state charges her family calls trumped-up.

• Lawyers associations callonIranto detail case againstHoodfar

The charges were never presented to her lawyerandinstead were published in the Iranian press, quoting the prosecutor as saying Hoodfarwas "dabbling in feminism".A court set terms for her to be released on bail, but her lawyer's numerous attemptsto post bail have been ignored.

"We were asked by the Iranian judicial authorities to tone down the media on Homa's case in order to allow the legal process to take its course," Ghahremani said. "The court has blatantly and repeatedly violated Iran's own laws."

'This case is a priority'

Amnesty International weighed in on Tuesday, calling Hoodfar a prisoner of conscience and contextualizingher detention against what it called a"broad and chillingcrackdown against women's rights activists and researchers" in Iran.

Hoodfar's family met with Foreign Affairs Minister Stphane Dion in Juneand was assured the government was trying every diplomatic channel.Ghahremanireceived similar assurances in a further meeting with Global Affairs Canada officialsTuesday in Ottawa, she said.

In an emailed statement from Global Affairs Canada on Monday night, spokesmanJohn Babcock said: "We are working with our allies and on every option in order to press the case.Privacy considerations prevent the department from discussing Government of Canada involvement in further detail;however, rest assured that this case is a priority for us."

Without formal diplomatic channels in Iran Canada closed its Tehran Embassy in 2012 Ottawa has to rely on allies with official diplomatic ties.

• Canada has started 'official' talks with Iran to renew ties

Thomas Juneau, a Middle East expert at the University of Ottawa, said "not having an embassy in Tehran makes this hard."

But because Hoodfar is a triple citizen of Canada, Iran and Ireland herfamily is also hoping for help from diplomats in Dublin.

"We're hoping that the Canadians, the Irish, and the Iranians are all paying attention,"Ghahremani said.

"Iwould always love for [Ottawa]to do more, for the Irish to do more. I'm hoping they will do everything that they have within, you know, their diplomatic power."

• Iranian authorities withhold prisoners' health care as 'tool of repression,' rights group claims