An Iranian serving a life sentence on a conviction of designing a pornographic Web site has fled the country while on short-term release from prison and has arrived in Canada, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his family said.
“Canada welcomes the news that Saeed Malekpour has been reunited with his family in Canada,” a ministry spokesman said in a statement received by reporters.
“We have advocated for Mr Malekpour’s release and are pleased that he is now in Canada,” the spokesman said, without elaborating due to privacy considerations.
Iranian authorities on Saturday confirmed state television reports that Malekpour, who is also a permanent resident of Canada, had left the Islamic republic.
“This individual was barred from leaving the country and has apparently left ... via unofficial channels and has not returned,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
“This individual was sentenced to life in jail and had served more than 11 years of his sentence,” Esmaili said, quoted by the judiciary’s official news agency, Mizan Online.
He said Malekpour was given a three-day furlough on July 20 and by the end of it did not turn himself in to the prison.
His sister posted a video on Twitter confirming he had returned to Canada.
“My brother Saeed Malekpour has just arrived to Canada! The nightmare is finally over!” Maryam Malekpour said.
“Thank you Canada for your leadership. And thank you to every single person who supported us throughout this time. Together we prevailed,” she added.
Canadian media said he had landed in Vancouver on Friday.
Payam Akhavan, a professor at McGill University in Montreal who supported Malekpour, told CBC TV that his family in Iran and his lawyer knew nothing about the escape.
Citing Akhavan, CBC said Iran released Malekpour under “intense pressure” and that he escaped through a third country, which was not identified.
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