Dealing with the devils
The release of Concordia University professor Homa Hoodfar from Iranian custody is a welcome event and no doubt a joyous moment for her friends and family. But it cannot be categorized as a triumph for Canadian diplomacy.
It may not result from Canadian efforts at all. Foreign regimes, big or small, good or evil, cunning or irrational, have their own internal dynamics and processes over which not even a superpower has much control; it is far from clear that, say, the People’s Republic of China could make the despotic leader of North Korea behave, even if it wanted to.
Despite the posturing in some quarters, Canada does not enjoy much global influence over countries like Iran. If anything, Tehran’s mullahs delight in displaying their contempt for the sort of Western, democratic values Canada espouses. While their motives for releasing Hoodfar remain unclear, it would be a worrying sign if her freedom had been paid for with concessions from Ottawa.
According to one report, “some experts say Hoodfar’s release on Monday is a sign the Liberal government is making progress on a promise to reopen channels cut off when the previous Conservative government severed ties with Iran in 2012.” That assessment, accurate or not, may be intended as praise, and certainly conforms with the Trudeau government’s opinion of itself. Just last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion boasted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is “the most prominent and popular” politician on the planet. But it could just as easily mean Tehran is rewarding Ottawa on a humanitarian matter for concessions on matters of strategic importance.
For instance, the Iranians want Ottawa to repeal the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which allows Canadian victims of terrorism to sue foreign governments labelled state sponsors of terrorism, for reasons as obvious as they are discreditable. So far the government is public- ly standing firm, as it should. But if behind-the-scenes negotiations involved softening our stand to get innocent people released from Iranian jails, it is neither acceptable nor wise.
Clearly, Iran’s arrest of Hoodfar, and its characteristic mistreatment of her in jail, was an outrage that violates every basic norm of human rights. But it was no accident. The Iranian justice system violates the rule of law we so cherish by malevolent theocratic design. And while the reasons for Hoodfar’s arrest were typically never made clear, her family asserted it related to her “dabbling in feminism and security matters,” apparently referring to her research on women’s role in public life in Muslim societies, including the taboo subject of homosexuality.
The blame for her arrest and treatment lies squarely with the Iranian government. But it is a reminder to Canadians that travel to a repressive, hypersensitive tyranny is to run a dangerous risk, one that Canada has limited means to remedy. Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking photos in front of the notorious Evin prison, where Hoodfar was also held, and died after being tortured, raped and beaten into a coma. Hoodfar, like Kazemi, was from Iran and must have understood the vicious nature of the regime, including the routine use of rape in prison. It is courageous to travel to such a place, but it also puts Canadian citizens at the mercy of governments that routinely imprison and abuse people for their own motives. A week before Hoodfar’s release, Canadian Kevin Garratt was freed from detention in China, where he had been held on accusations of spying, conveniently after concessions from Ottawa on Chinese concerns.
It is possible Iran responded to entreaties from Canada for Hoodfar’s return. It is also possible she was released because her health is not robust, and Tehran hoped to avoid having a second Canadian die in dubious circumstances in an Iranian cell.
Friendly relations with the Iranian regime are not appropriate. It is sensible to have diplomatic relations, even with obnoxious governments, precisely because we cannot remake the world as we might like. But it is not sensible to blind ourselves to their true nature or to proceed as though the approval of the tyrants in Tehran, or indeed Beijing, is something worth sacrificing our principles and our interests for. Even with laudable humanitarian motives.