Following two Canadian university presidents’ public denouncement of the imprisonment of Baha’i educators in Iran, Carleton released a statement of support Jan. 18 for Nooshin Khadem, a Carleton graduate imprisoned in the country.
“We’re always concerned about the well-being of Carleton alumni in Canada and around the world,” said Christopher Cline, Carleton’s media relations co-ordinator, on behalf of the university. “The thoughts of the Carleton community are with [Khadem] and her family.”
Khadem’s arrest is one of several recent actions by the Iranian government towards Iranian students who ascribe to the Baha’i faith, a religious population that is a minority in the predominantly Muslim nation. Khadem, 48, who attained her master’s of business administration from Carleton, is one of those imprisoned by the Iranian government.
Arrested on May 22, 2011, Khadem appeared in court in September 2011, under the premise that she was using fraudulent teaching credentials.
Allan Rock, president of the University of Ottawa, in collaboration with University of Winnipeg president Lloyd Axworthy wrote an article in the Huffington Post Jan. 5, condemning the Iranian government for banning access to higher education for educators and students of the Baha’i faith.
“We regard education as the key to a better future for all peoples, and believe passionately that each person has the right to an education,” Rock and Axworthy wrote.
Students who have studied in Canadian universities have been kept from teaching others in Iran, denied their credentials and wrongfully detained, according to the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE).
However, the Iranian government reportedly seizes these credentials and then denies their existance, according to BIHE.
The issue “hit close to home” with two University of Ottawa graduates imprisoned in Iran, Rock said.
He said it was important for the University of Ottawa to be a voice for those in Iran.
“Universities in the region have fear of reprisals,” Rock said. “I couldn’t understand [why universities] in Canada would be reluctant to talk.”
However, Rock said he understands other universities’ concerns about denouncing the Iranian government’s actions.
Carleton president Roseann Runte said Carleton had some hesitations about making a comment.
She consulted outside sources on the matter to make sure the university’s statement doesn’t harm prisoners and students in Iran or lead to their imprisonment, she said.
“If you say something you can have the opposite effect . . . so my concern was that if the university spoke out it could make the situation worse,” Runte said.
