Hard diplomatic work freed Hoodfar

Canadian officials have a moral duty to help citizens held abroad

The following editorial appears today in the Montreal Gazette:

For the second time this month, the country is heaving a sigh of relief over the release of a Canadian unjustly detained in a foreign jail.

On Monday, ailing Montreal academic Homa Hoodfar was freed by Iran on humanitarian grounds after more than 100 days in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison while she was being investigated for “dabbling in feminism and security matters.” The 65-year-old Hoodfar, who suffers from a chronic condition, landed in Oman, where she was to receive medical attention before flying on to London to meet loved ones.

Hoodfar’s release follows that of Kevin Garratt, jailed in China for two years on suspicion of espionage. He was reunited with his family in Vancouver two weeks ago, shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned from China and before the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Canada.

In both cases, high-level intervention by Canadian officials appears to have been key after lengthy behind-thescenes diplomacy.

Garratt’s detention had been an ongoing irritant as Canada and China seek to forge stronger ties.

Similarly, Hoodfar’s release was facilitated by Iranian authorities who “understand that cases like these impede more productive relations,” Trudeau said. Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, but in the wake of the international nuclear deal with Iran and the election of a new government in Ottawa, there has been talk of resuming ties.

In the absence of relations, Canada had to call upon allies to press Hoodfar’s case. But a meeting between Global Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion and his Iranian counterpart at the United Nations last week may have helped seal the deal.

The high-level attention stands in contrast to the case of Mohamed Fahmy. The Canadian journalist spent more than 400 days in an Egyptian prison before being deported a year ago. Fahmy was sharply critical of former prime minister Stephen Harper’s slowness reaching out to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi directly, especially after Australia secured the freedom of his colleague, Peter Greste, with calls from Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Top-level diplomacy doesn’t always bring a happy ending. Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was tortured and killed in Iranian custody in 2003 despite Canadian advocacy.

But it can make a difference, and Canadian officials, from the prime minister on down, have a moral duty to defend the rights of citizens unfairly held abroad, as well as to do all they can to help non-citizens.

Public pressure plays a major role in making priorities of individual cases. Hoodfar’s network of family, friends and colleagues also deserve credit for pulling out the stops in drawing national — even worldwide — attention to her plight.