TEHRAN, Iran – A Montreal-based university professor being held in an Iranian jail has been indicted on unknown charges.
Iran’s semi-official ISNA and Tasnim news agencies quoted Tehran’s prosecutor saying Homa Hoodfar was among three dual nationals and a foreigner who had been charged.
The four, who have ties to Canada, Britain and the U.S., are all believed to have been detained by hardliners in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
WATCH: Family concerned for Homa Hoodfar, Concordia professor detained in Iran
The reasons for their separate arrests remain unclear, though the husband of one of them says his family was told by the Guard she’d be released if the British government agreed to their demands.
Family members and representatives of the four say they did nothing wrong.
Hoodfar, a 65-year-old professor at Montreal’s Concordia University, was born in Iran but has been living in Montreal for 30 years. Her family said she travelled to Iran in February to see family and conduct academic research.
READ MORE: Who is Homa Hoodfar?
She was initially arrested in March, shortly before she was to return home, but was released on bail. She was arrested again on June 6.
The three others who were indicted on Monday are:
- Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who has advocated for closer ties between the two countries and whose father is also held in Tehran
- Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British woman who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency
- Nizar Zakka, a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon who has done work for the American government .
Iran does not recognize dual nationalities. In previous cases involving dual nationals, like the detention of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, officials initially announced indictments had been handed down without providing specifics. Later, news organizations with close ties to security services offered details of the charges.
Those detained typically face trial in Iran’s Revolutionary Court, a closed-door tribunal that handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.
Rezaian was convicted but later released in January as part of a prisoner swap between Iran and the U.S.
While Iranian officials have not publicly demanded another swap, analysts have suggested the detainees might be used by hardliners as bargaining chips.
Iranian officials in Tehran could not be reached for comment. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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