The widow of an Iranian-Canadian environmentalist who died in a Tehran prison last month in disputed circumstances has been prevented from leaving the country, her two sons have said.
Authorities have said that Kavous Seyed Emami, a professor of sociology and the managing director of the Persian Heritage Wildlife Foundation, committed suicide in prison about two weeks after being arrested on espionage charges.
The family and activists have denied the charges against Emami and questioned the suicide claim, calling for an independent investigation.
Emami’s sons, Ramin and Mehran, were allowed to fly to Canada on March 7. But they have said that authorities confiscated the passport of their mother, Maryam Mombeini.
All three have dual Iranian-Canadian citizenship.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was “outraged” that Mombeini had been prevented from traveling.
"We demand that, as a Canadian, she be given the freedom to return home," Freeland wrote on Twitter on March 7.
Seyed Emami’s death in detention has raised concerns over the treatment of those held in Iranian prisons.
His son Ramin, a popular singer, has said that the family has been pressured by authorities to remain silent about the case.
He said that he and his family have been living in "complete chaos and terror" since his father's death.