Allegations Against Homa Hoodfar: 'Involvement in Feminism and Security Crimes'

Eighteen days after the arrest of Homa Hoodfar, a professor at Concordia University in Canada, by the Intelligence Protection of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Tehran Prosecutor stated that the reason for her arrest was her 'involvement in feminism and security crimes.' Homa Hoodfar, a well-known Iranian-Canadian anthropologist who also holds Irish citizenship, was arrested on June 7 after being summoned to the Security Prosecutor's Office in Tehran, but the reason for her arrest had not been disclosed until now. On Friday, July 4, the Mizan news agency reported that she is 'a board member and one of the founders of the subversive Volum Institute, which operates from its headquarters in London,' and labeled her charges as 'anti-security activities.' According to this news agency, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran Prosecutor, also stated regarding the latest status of Homa Hoodfar's case that she 'has been involved in feminism and security crimes, and her case is under investigation in Tehran's Prosecutor's Office.' Previously, more than 170 well-known humanities professors from universities in Europe and America issued a statement calling for her immediate release and permission for her return to Canada. The Mizan news agency also reported that the Tehran Prosecutor announced that Nazanin Zaghari, a dual Iranian-British citizen who was arrested in Kerman, 'has now been transferred to Tehran.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi emphasized that 'necessary investigations for this case have been conducted, and documents and evidence have been collected, and since this individual has been active outside the country, it was determined that the jurisdiction for this case does not lie with the judicial authorities of Kerman province and must be handled in Tehran.' The public relations office of the Sarallah Corps of Kerman province referred to Ms. Zaghari in a statement on June 26 as 'one of the main networks affiliated with foreigners who has carried out various missions to achieve the nefarious goals of the enemies of the regime.' This statement also mentioned that she 'has participated in designing and implementing media and cyber projects aimed at the soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic.' Nazanin Zaghari was arrested on April 4 of this year by the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran and transferred to Kerman. Yadollah Mohammadi, the head of the Kerman judiciary, had previously stated that Ms. Zaghari was arrested in connection with the case of several individuals accused of 'designing' websites related to the 2009 protests. In mid-December 2013, the Kerman judiciary announced that 16 individuals in this city had been arrested on charges of designing websites for 'citizen journalist educational sites commissioned by Western news networks' and 'collaborating with foreign networks.' Kerman judiciary officials accused these individuals of being the 'designers' of the 'Green Voice of Freedom' website and of 'implementing the plans and programs of BBC Persian in Iran.' Reports indicate that seven of these individuals were members of the 'Narenji' website, which operated in the field of information technology news. Following the arrests of these individuals, the cyber forces of the Sarallah Corps of Kerman hacked nine websites, including 'Green Voice of Freedom,' 'Sabznameh,' and 'Nowruz.' Richard Ratcliffe, Ms. Zaghari's husband, described the accusations against her as 'absurd and ridiculous' in an interview with Radio Farda and characterized his wife's case as 'a political file.'