Amnesty Ireland welcomes release of Dr Homa Hoodfar

Amnesty International Ireland has welcomed the release of Irish citizen Dr Homa Hoodfar from Iranian prison after more than three and a half months of detention.

A professor of Anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal, Dr Hoodfar was arrested in June and held incommunicado throughout the majority of her detention in Tehran’s Evin Prison.

Amnesty considered her to have been a prisoner of conscience detained on trumped-up, national security-related charges.

She was imprisoned in solitary confinement and grave concerns were raised about her health and lack of access to adequate medical care.

She is now being returned to Canada via Oman.

Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said the news is “a huge relief for her, her family and supporters and for the tens of thousands of Amnesty International members and supporters who lobbied for her release”.

He added: “While we await further information from Dr Hoodfar’s family, serious concerns remain about the impact that months of arbitrary detention in solitary confinement has had on her health.”