Airport Officials Prevented the Wife of Kavous Seyed Emami from Leaving Iran

The children of Kavous Seyed Emami, who recently passed away in prison, stated on Wednesday, March 7, that airport officials prevented their mother from leaving Iran. Reports indicate that Ramin and Mehran, two sons of Kavous Seyed Emami, were allowed to exit Iran. In this context, Chrystia Freeland, Canada's Foreign Minister, criticized the officials on Twitter for blocking Kavous Seyed Emami's wife from leaving Iran. Freeland wrote that it is disgusting that Maryam Momeni, the wife of Kavous Seyed Emami, was not allowed to leave Iran. She called for her to be granted the freedom to return home as a Canadian. A New York Times journalist also tweeted that Mehran Seyed Emami told him in a phone call that officials prevented their mother from leaving Iran. Mehran Seyed Emami stated in this call that they once caused their family to be torn apart, and now they are doing the same again. Ramin Seyed Emami also wrote in a letter sent after boarding the plane that since their father's death, their family has been under severe pressure, 'constant terror and intimidation.' Ramin Seyed Emami added that after ongoing harassment and threats, the family decided to leave Iran for Vancouver to ensure their safety and start a new life in peace. He mentioned that Omar Alghabra, the Parliamentary Secretary to Canada's Foreign Minister, would welcome them at Vancouver Airport. According to reports, several environmental activists, including Kavous Seyed Emami, a university professor and Iranian-Canadian citizen, were arrested more than a month ago. On February 10, it was announced that Kavous Seyed Emami, a professor at Imam Sadiq University and CEO of the 'Persian Wildlife Heritage Institute,' passed away in prison two weeks after his arrest. Iranian judicial officials claim that Kavous Seyed Emami committed suicide in prison, while Amnesty International has described the 'prevention of independent investigations' into Kavous Seyed Emami's 'highly suspicious death' as a sign of a 'deliberate and planned effort to conceal any evidence of torture and murder.' The Tehran prosecutor and the spokesperson for the judiciary have accused Kavous Seyed Emami and the arrested environmental activists of 'espionage.' Earlier, Iranian state television aired a film titled 'Forbidden Zone' on Thursday, February 15, claiming that Mr. Seyed Emami and other arrested environmental activists in this case engaged in 'espionage.' Ramin Seyed Emami previously wrote that officials had summoned his mother after his father's death. In a note on his personal blog, he provided more details about the events following his father's death, stating that the 27th District Prosecutor's Office summoned 'my mother on Friday, February 9, 2018, and told her to come to 'see your husband' and interrogated and threatened her for three hours before announcing Kavous's death, ultimately obtaining a written commitment from her not to speak to the media, or else they would arrest her too.' Kavous Seyed Emami's body was buried on Tuesday, February 13, in the Imamzadeh cemetery located 40 kilometers from Tehran.