OTTAWA – New Democrat Leader Jack Layton is continuing to monitor the situation of Maziar Bahari, the Canadian-Iranian journalist and filmmaker who was being held in Iran. Layton hopes he will be reunited with his family soon.

“For more than four months, Mr. Bahari had been detained in jail by the Iranian authorities, who denied him access to a lawyer,” said Layton. “Refusing to recognize his Canadian citizenship, Iranian authorities blocked consular access to my constituent. This was unacceptable.”

Iranian authorities accused Bahari of helping organize anti-government protests that followed the disputed presidential elections in Iran. Bahari’s arrest reminds us of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died while in custody in Iran in 2003.

“Now that he is granted release, we hope Mr. Bahari will be reunited with his family, and will be with his wife in London for the birth of their child,” said Layton.

During their national convention in mid-August, New Democrats adopted an emergency resolution calling for the immediate release all political prisoners in Iran, including Maziar Bahari.

“The other prisoners of conscience jailed in Iran must be released and New Democrats call on our federal government to take a firm stand and insist on their immediate release too.”