The Release of Hodafer Highlights the Importance of Human Rights Issues in Negotiations with Iran

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Homa Hodafer, a Canadian-Iranian citizen who was imprisoned in Iran, has been released "for humanitarian reasons including illness." Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, referred to Hodafer as a "retired professor from Canadian universities" and reported that she was freed on Monday evening and has returned to Canada. Kaveh Ehsani, a colleague of Hodafer and a member of the campaign for her freedom residing in the U.S., confirmed this news and described her health as good. According to him, Hodafer requires medical attention, and her family is currently not ready to speak with the media. Homa Hodafer, a 65-year-old Iranian-Canadian citizen, was arrested on June 7 in Tehran. Last month, Iranian officials accused her of entering the realms of feminism and security crimes. The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry did not mention the dropping of charges against Hodafer. Mohammad Seifzadeh, a lawyer and one of the founders of the Human Rights Defenders Center residing in Iran, stated that while the prosecution has been halted and permission for her release has been granted, they can pursue the case again in the future. According to this lawyer, although a prisoner can be released on bail and even granted permission to enter and exit the country, they can still pursue the case later. Hodafer was released less than a week after the meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran and Canada in New York. This meeting was the first since diplomatic relations were severed about five years ago, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Mehrdad Hariri, a civil activist and co-founder of the Iranian Congress in Canada, stated that governments must consider human rights in negotiations with Iran. According to this civil activist residing in Canada, Hodafer's release highlighted the importance of addressing human rights issues in intergovernmental negotiations. In late June of this year, the Iranian Minister of Justice referred to the case of Mahmoudreza Khavari, the former head of the National Bank of Iran, who fled to Canada after the exposure of the so-called "three thousand billion tomans corruption case," stating that Canada is not cooperating with the Islamic Republic to bring him back. At that time, the Canadian newspaper "Globe and Mail" suggested that the Iranian government might use Hodafer's detention as leverage against the Canadian government. Canada has been a critic of the Islamic Republic on human rights issues, severing its relations with Iran in 2012, but recently, with the rise of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, signs of a willingness to restore relations with Tehran have emerged.