Homa Hoodfar: Interrogators Said I Would Never Be Released

Homa Hoodfar, a retired professor from Concordia University in Canada, accused Iranian security forces of psychological and emotional torture during her detention in Iran in an interview with a Canadian television station. On Wednesday, October 6, she stated in a conversation with CBC News Canada that her interrogators in Iran had threatened to send her corpse to Canada. Hoodfar's detention in Iran lasted about four months, and she was eventually released following a meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and Canada on October 5, returning to Canada three days later. The Iranian judiciary described her charges as 'security-related' without providing details, and the Tehran prosecutor mentioned that she had been active in the 'feminism' field. Regarding her days in detention, Hoodfar said, 'I had prepared myself to possibly spend several years in prison, or as they said, 15 years, or I would never be released at all.' According to her, the interrogators tried to break her psychologically, sometimes playing the music from her husband's funeral that was on her iPad. She explained, 'One of their techniques is to make you cry. I wasn't crying, and that's why they played the music that was playing when my husband’s body was being transferred from the apartment where I live. Those were the hardest moments for me during those days.' She also stated that she believes she was detained due to political disputes between the elected government of Iran and conservative anti-Western forces, including the Revolutionary Guards and the judiciary, noting that her interrogator was also a member of the Revolutionary Guards. Hoodfar said, 'The very fact that I live in the West and taught at a Western university was enough for them. From one perspective, I must say that by arresting me, they wanted to have a hostage to pressure the elected government in Iran.' Tehran and Ottawa have not had political relations since 2012, making the recent meeting of the two countries' foreign ministers in New York the first dialogue between the heads of diplomacy of Iran and Canada in four years. Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American journalist, also referenced similar interrogation experiences in his complaint against the Iranian government regarding his detention. He stated, 'He and his wife were repeatedly subjected to psychological and physical abuse during interrogation. The interrogators threatened to behead him or execute him. The interrogations also took place in solitary confinement and often while they were sleeping, with each of them being separately told that the other would be beheaded or executed.' These threats also extended to their families in Iran. In this context, 'Hoodfar's release highlighted the importance of addressing human rights issues in negotiations with Iran.' The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Hoodfar's release, expressing serious concern for her health status.