After a 20-hour flight, Homa Hoodfar entered the terminal of Montreal’s Trudeau airport, while friends, colleagues, and supporters stood watch to give a hero’s welcome – signalling an end to a lengthy ordeal that kept her imprisoned in Iran for nearly four months.
“In Iran, nothing is complete until it is complete,” Hoodfar told reporters in a press conference Thursday morning. “When I was in the jet, I knew I was free.”
While seeming to be in good spirits, Hoodfar said that she still feels “weak and frail, but better.” Her family had feared the worst in recent weeks, saying her health was deteriorating while in solitary confinement. Hoodfar suffers from a neurological condition and recent reports suggested she was "barely able to walk or talk."
“It is wonderful to feel that you’re in a place where you’re secure. I cannot say what it means to be home,” she explained.
Hoodfar and niece Amanda Ghahremani openly thanked the Canadian government and Iranian officials for helping to secure her release, also acknowledging the overwhelming national support from human rights and feminist organizations.
Hoodfar was released earlier this week and flown out of Iran to Oman.
Hoodfar had been detained since June 6 at Tehran's notorious Evin prison on allegations of "dabbling in feminism" and security matters.
However, Ghahremani fielded all questions regarding Hoodfar's imprisonment to avoid the sting of re-traumatization. Ghahremani told reporters that Hoodfar would be willing to answer questions in more detail after receiving some rest.
During her imprisonment, Hoodfar said she would often think of summer in Montreal, missing friends, family, and her geraniums.
“I’m glad I get to catch the tail end of it now,” Hoodfar said.
Hoodfar, 65, is known for her research on Muslim women in various regions of the world and there have been suggestions Iranian authorities were particularly struck by her research on homosexuality and women's sexuality in the context of Muslim countries.
She travelled to Iran in February to see family and do academic research but was arrested in March, just as she was set to return to Montreal. She was released on bail and then rearrested in early June.
The state-run Oman News Agency published pictures of Hoodfar arriving in Muscat, the Omani capital, on an air force jet, walking under her own power and being greeted by her niece.
Since Canada has no diplomatic presence in Iran, the governments of Oman, Italy and Switzerland stepped in to help secure her release.
Canada has not had an embassy in Iran since 2012, when the Stephen Harper-led Conservative government cut diplomatic ties over Tehran's contested nuclear program and other issues.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement earlier this week the Canadian government had "actively" worked for Hoodfar's release.
Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance.
Trudeau also recognized "the co-operation of those Iranian authorities" who helped her cause.
Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA, reported Monday that Hoodfar had been freed from prison on humanitarian grounds.
Hoodfar's supporters had pressed diplomats to discuss her case during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion met with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on the sidelines of the meeting last Wednesday.
For the moment, Hoodfar told reporters that she has no plans to return to Iran, but after resting, will likely take a walk around her neighbourhood.
With files from The Canadian Press
