Mother of Iranian-Canadian Activist Esmaeilion Barred from Leaving Iran

Iranian-Canadian writer and civil activist Hamed Esmaeilion says Iran’s government has barred his mother from leaving the country in retaliation for his activism.

Esmaeilion lost his daughter and wife in the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over Tehran in January 2020.

He served as president and spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, which is fighting for truth and justice for the victims of the tragedy, until he resigned in March of this year to dedicate himself to the “revolution” taking place in Iran.

Esmaeilion said on Instagram that the Iranian authorities stopped his mother at Tehran International Airport on November 25 and confiscated her passport, saying she was not allowed to leave the country.

On the same day, officials at the passport office told her that she and her husband were prohibited from leaving Iran for six months.

Esmaeilion said that the government's dirty tactics will not stop him from continuing his activism.

"You may want to prevent me from seeing my parents, or you may not allow my 73-year-old mother to visit the grave of her daughter-in-law and nine-year-old grandchild who were killed by you, but I have no doubt that dozens of other people will do that in Toronto instead of my mother,” he wrote.