Canada resident convicted of designing porn site home after escaping jail in Iran
- Saeed Malekpour has been reunited with his family after spending 11 years in jail
- The Canadian permanent resident was originally sentenced to death but this was commuted to life in jail in 2013
“Canada welcomes the news that Saeed Malekpour has been reunited with his family in Canada,” a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
“We have advocated for Mr Malekpour’s release and are pleased that he is now in Canada,” the spokesman said, without elaborating due to privacy considerations.
Iranian authorities on Saturday confirmed state television reports that Malekpour, who is also a permanent resident of Canada, had left the Islamic republic.
“This individual was barred from leaving the country and has apparently left … via unofficial channels and has not returned,” said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.
“This individual was sentenced to life in jail and had served more than 11 years of his sentence,” Esmaili said, quoted by the judiciary’s official news agency, Mizan Online.