TEHRAN: A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on “humanitarian grounds” and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran’s state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services.

Homa Hoodfar returned to Canada via Oman, a brief report on the state-run IRNA news agency said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed her release in a statement, thanking Italy, Switzerland and Oman for their help in the matter.

Kaveh Ehsani, a friend of Hoodfar’s in Chicago, declined to comment. Other family members did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hoodfar, 65, was questioned and barred from leaving Iran in March after travelling to the country to visit family following the death of her husband. Her family said she has been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison since June. Hoodfar until recently taught anthropology and sociology at Montreal’s Concordia University.

In July, Iran announced indictments for Hoodfar and three others, without providing any details about the accusations.

In recent weeks, Hoodfar’s supporters described her health as deteriorating while she was in solitary confinement, saying she was “barely able to walk or talk.” Hoodfar’s supporters had pressed diplomats to discuss her case during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the meeting on Wednesday, state television reported. Iran’s UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Canada has not had an embassy in Iran since 2012, when its then-Conservative-led government cut diplomatic ties over Tehran’s contested nuclear programme and other issues.

Trudeau said Canadians are “relieved that Dr. Hoodfar has been released from jail and will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues.”

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2016