OTTAWA, ON (June 19, 2021): Former judge Ebrahim Resai, a conservative hardliner, is poised to assume the presidency in Iran following an “election” widely believed to be engineered in his favour.
What does this mean for Canada’s relations with Iran, for human rights in Iran, and for the world? MLI Senior Fellows Kaveh Shahrooz and Mariam Memarsadeghi are available to comment.
Mariam Memarsadeghi is a leading proponent for a democratic Iran. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The American Interest, The Jerusalem Post, Tablet, Bulwark, Quillette and other publications. She is a frequent speaker at universities and think tanks worldwide and provides commentary on English, Persian and Arabic language TV news programs. She is co-founder of Tavaana: E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society, previously directed the Middle East & North Africa division at Freedom House and worked for nearly three years in the Balkan region for the International Rescue Committee and the International Organization for Migration.
Kaveh Shahrooz is a lawyer and human rights activist, and a Senior Fellow with MLI’s Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad. He is also a former Senior Policy Advisor on human rights to Global Affairs Canada. A graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Toronto, he has written widely on human rights issues and international affairs. He led a recent successful effort to convince Canada’s parliament to recognize the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran as constituting crimes against humanity under international law.
For more information watch MLI’s recent webinar, titled “After the Islamic Republic: Democratic solutions for the Iranian people” here.
To arrange an interview, media are invited to contact:
Brett Byers
Communications and Digital Media Manager
613-482-8327 x105
brett.byers@macdonaldlaurier.ca
