Canada Demands Explanation from Iran Regarding the Death of Seyed Emami

Canada has called for an explanation from Iran regarding the cause of death of Kavous Seyed Emami, an Iranian-Canadian citizen, during his detention. Kavous Seyed Emami, a university professor and environmental activist, died in prison on February 8 after two weeks of detention. The judiciary has stated that the cause of his death was 'suicide.' On Saturday, February 10, coinciding with the announcement of Seyed Emami's death by his family, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public prosecutor of Tehran, claimed that several individuals had been arrested for 'collecting classified information in strategic areas under the guise of scientific and environmental projects.' The Tehran prosecutor also alleged that Kavous Seyed Emami had made confessions against himself. According to AFP, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland called for an explanation from Iran regarding Seyed Emami's death on Wednesday, February 14. In a statement, she expressed serious concern about the conditions of Seyed Emami's detention and death, stating that Canada had 'repeatedly' expressed its concerns regarding this case. Freeland promised to use all of Canada's resources to obtain more information about the case. She said, 'A Canadian has died. We expect the Iranian government to provide information and answers related to the circumstances involved in this tragedy.' Kavous Seyed Emami is the second Iranian-Canadian citizen to die in Iranian prisons. Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and photographer, was arrested in 2003 outside Evin Prison but did not emerge alive. A report by the Sixth Parliament's investigative committee identified Judge Saeed Mortazavi as the primary suspect in the case of Zahra Kazemi's death, which was not pursued. On Wednesday, the Environmental Faction of the Parliament held a meeting with deputies from the judiciary, the Department of Environment, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the IRGC Intelligence regarding the case of Kavous Seyed Emami and other environmental activists who are detained. Mohammad Reza Tabeish, head of the Environmental Faction, stated that 'it was raised in this meeting that the IRGC, as a judicial agent, intervened in the case by the prosecutor's order, while according to the nature of the accusation, the Ministry of Intelligence should have intervened in the case.' According to Tabeish, the deputy of the judiciary stated that the detention center where Kavous Seyed Emami died was under the supervision of the prison organization, and 'therefore, the prison organization must accept responsibility for the incident and be accountable for it.' This parliamentary representative added that the Ministry of Intelligence had no involvement in this case. Mohammad Reza Tabeish criticized the Tehran prosecutor, questioning why he had made comments about Seyed Emami 'before the trial and issuance of a verdict.' Meanwhile, 43 representatives in the Parliament meeting on Wednesday admonished the ministers of intelligence and justice regarding the deaths of some prisoners in the country, including Kavous Seyed Emami. At the same time, the National Unity Party of Iran also sent an open letter to Hassan Rouhani, calling for the President's follow-up on this matter. The letter emphasized, 'Why does the country's intelligence apparatus lack the necessary firmness to perform its legal duties, and why can it not prevent the interference of parallel institutions in its responsibilities?' Kavous Seyed Emami was detained by the IRGC.