
Tell Justin Trudeau to Fight for Web Developer Saeed Malekpour - iamjeff
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/09/tell-justin-trudeau-free-saeed-malekpour
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dghughes
There is also Homa Hoodfar a Canadian professor in jail in the same prison she
is gravely ill. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/homa-hoodfar-
ill-1.3740392](http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/homa-hoodfar-ill-1.3740392)

Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi was beaten to death in 2003 in that same
prison.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahra_Kazemi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahra_Kazemi)

~~~
iamjeff
Utterly touched reading about Kazemi: remarkable that one of her (alleged)
murderers was charged with and later acquitted of "semi-intentional murder."
What does that even mean? Is it even possible to "half intentionally and half
accidentally" murder someone in your care/custody? I gather that this is a
concept operational within Quranic law and is generally intended to apply to
deaths that resulted from an action that would not threaten a life, but that
definition cannot be reconciled with the fact that Kazemi had been so
violently assaulted and horrifically murdered (and the unapologetic cover-up
and sham trial that ensued). As a Kenyan youth, I hardly know anyone that has
not been arrested by the police at one point in their lives (and this is,
sadly, the case for many other young men in other parts of the country as
well). As such, I have personally heard horror stories from women that I know
who have endured unspeakable treatment at the hands of the almighty Kenyan
Police Service- it seems that justice touches all races and all countries,
except, if you believe it, North Korea, the Land of Human Achievement, Love
and Joy. A lot has already been said about such circumstances and a lot more
has to said to fight this particular form of injustice. One wonders how many
Kazemis and Malekpours and Njoroges it would take to succeed.

~~~
smnrchrds
To expand on your explanation of semi-intentional murder: in Iranian law,
instead of first degree and second degree etc, murders are categorized as:

1\. Non-intentional murder: when the defendant did not intend to harm the
victim in any way. This is almost equivalent to manslaughter. The penalty
includes financial compensation for the victim's next of kin and potential
prison sentence. Example: vehicular manslaughter

2\. Intentional murder: when the defendant knowingly and intentionally kills a
person, whether premeditated or not. This is the closest to fist and second
degree murder in US law. The penalty can be up to and including death
sentence.

3\. Semi-intentional murder: when the defendant did intend to harm the victim
but did not intend to cause death. The penalty includes financial compensation
and prison time and is more severe than non-intentional murder. Example: a
person pushing a man during a fight, inadvertently causing him to fall from a
balcony to his death.

~~~
serge2k
Sounds reasonable.

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sintaxi
Saeed Malekpour is not a Canadian citizen. Unless he was abducted from
Canadian soil I can't see how the Canadian government can justify involvement.

~~~
dannyobrien
Previous Canadian administrations, and the Canadian parliament, have included
Saeed's case when criticizing and negotiating with Iran.: it was that stance
that in part led to Saeed's previous (two!) death sentences being commuted to
life. A return to Canada's previous position would undoubtedly help Saeed now.

(I'm the author of the original EFF post)

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Raphmedia
It is scary to know that as a Canadian, I can get abducted simply for having
contributed to open-source projects. It's even worst knowing that my
government won't do anything to help if it happens.

~~~
serge2k
This person isn't a Canadian citizen, he's a permanent resident and a citizen
of Iran.

Makes a big difference.

~~~
zouhair
No it doesn't if you are Brown they don't care much like for Mohamed Fahmy[0]
or the most egregious one giving a _kid_ to the USA to jail and torture[1].

So, no, if you are not white Canada most likely won't care much unless some
huge PR disaster.

[0]: [http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/canada-failing-
mohamed...](http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/canada-failing-mohamed-
fahmy/) [1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Khadr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Khadr)

~~~
mthoms
According to Wikipedia Fahmy has been given a presidential pardon and released
(he now lives in Vancouver). While I don't know the specifics of this case,
presidential pardons in developing nations are usually the result of
international pressure.

Khadr's case is tragic, but it's a bit disingenuous to claim his treatment was
entirely on account of him being "brown". I'm pretty sure the fact he was
fighting for the Taliban against his own country was part of the reason he
wasn't properly advocated for.

There's also the case of two white men being beheaded by terrorists because
the Canadian government refused to pay ransom.
[http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/asia/philippines-canada-abu-
sa...](http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/asia/philippines-canada-abu-sayyaf/)
Their race didn't seem to affect the position of the government, despite much
publicity.

Edit:Clarity

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mthoms
Canadian citizens should perhaps mention their nationality if they do indeed
fill out this email petition.

I simply added "I am a Canadian Citizen and voter" to the subject line.

Can't hurt.

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vishalzone2002
sad story, i posted it to their facebook post on eid and also emailed people
who can probably help..

~~~
iamjeff
This is unbelievably deplorable, it makes me question human decency...a young
man's life has changed irrevocably because he developed a photo-sharing tool,
not to mention the immeasurable harm and grief that it caused his father (who
died knowing full well his son was in the worst of shape, stuck in solitary
prison for a 'crime' that he did not commit, and would never get to pay his
final respects) and causes his ailing mother...it is deplorable, even
unthinkable...a lot certainly can be said about the excesses of Islamic
fundamentalism and geopolitics and their role in precipitating countless such
scenarios, but the systemic disregard for human welfare is shocking...having
lost a parent while I was thousands of miles away, stuck in a world of hurt of
my own, I can almost identify with what Malekpour endured...while we can not
change the outcome of such cases around the world (and there are many),
hopefully, we can help this one individual by spreading the word and saying a
prayer or making a thoughtful petition...this more than sucks! vishalzone2002,
in the grand scheme of things, I am convinced that your facebook post
helped...if only our (global) leaders were as concerned as you were...

~~~
vishalzone2002
I agree. I have also tried reaching out to few business folks I know in
Canada. But either ways, irrespective of religion, anything like this should
be alarming to everyone because it can pretty much make anyone's life upside
down in a matter of days for no reason.

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wppick
Tell? I'm sorry, but that's a disrespectful way to phrase your statement -- he
isn't even a Canadian citizen. Where do you get your entitlement from?

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vlehto
>Justin Trudeau Can Restore Saeed's Freedom

No he can't. If the reasons for Saeed's arrest are truly as said in the
article, it would be immense loss of face to any Iranian politicians to
release him. So they won't.

If Trudeau does anything to this stuff, there are three options:

1\. Give up and lose face yourself.

2\. Threaten Iran and lose public image of Canada as the do-good nice guy.

3\. Exchange Saeed to something valuable. This would paint Saeed as spy and
would save face of everybody involved in that regard. What would be sweet
enough for Iran? What Canada has to offer?

Lifting trade sanctions prematurely or offering nuclear goods and ballistic
missile designs. This would in turn make every ally of Canada pretty mad.

~~~
dannyobrien
At a broad level, you're correct: prisoners like Saeed are often pawns in a
wider geopolitical game (in fact, there's an upcoming documentary on this
aspect coming out soon, which includes a detailed look at Saeed's case:
[https://www.facebook.com/filmcheckmate/](https://www.facebook.com/filmcheckmate/)
).

However, these negotiations don't work at such a dramatic level as you
suggest. For instance, Saeed was originally sentenced to death, but the
sentence was commuted to life following external pressure. Mostafa Azizi, the
Canadian filmmaker, was released in April.

Canada frequently makes strong protestations to Iran, and is currently in the
middle of debating whether to restore diplomatic relations with the country.
The fate of Canadian prisoners in Iran is clearly tied up with this, including
that of Homa Hoodfar, who was arrested earlier this year.

While I can't predict what the results of those negotiations would be, whether
Saeed is included in the names of prisoners being discussed would have a
relatively marginal effect on the cost to either Iran or Canada. What's
disturbing is that the previous Canadian government appeared to include Saeed
in that equation, whereas Stephane Dion has implied that the new government
does not.

(The other point I'd make is that the Iranian government, like most
governments, is not a monolithic organisation. In particular, the parts of the
political administration attempting to improve trade and diplomatic relations
with the West is not the part that targeted and sentenced Saeed. Much of the
real negotiations and power dynamics are internal to Iran. But that can be
positive as well as negative. My impression is that Saeed's detention has
served its political purpose for the more strident groups. I don't think, at
this stage, years after the original prosecution, that releasing him would be
an immense loss of face.

~~~
vlehto
Fair points.

But still releasing will cost something to Canada. Probably something agreed
behind closed doors as a part of package deal. I'm afraid this is one of those
cases where you have to trust politicians. Trudeau or some diplomat will have
to calculate what solution is good for the big picture and that may require
sacrificing individuals.

