Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon called in Iran's top diplomat in Ottawa this week for a third blast over Tehran's treatment of election protesters and the detention of Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari.
Foreign Affairs officials met with Iranian chargé d'affaires Bahram Ghasemi on Tuesday to demand a visit with Mr. Bahari, a Canadian journalist working for Newsweek magazine, and to urge Tehran to release him.
But Iran does not even recognize the Canadian status of Mr. Bahari, a dual citizen who was arrested June 21 and held without charge.
"Canada is gravely concerned about the continuing detention of Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, and by the Iranian regime's unrelenting disregard for basic human rights, including freedom of expression, which continue to be deliberately ignored," Mr. Cannon said in a statement issued yesterday.
"Mr. Bahari is a professional and experienced journalist who was doing his job covering an important and difficult story."
It was the third time since Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election that Mr. Ghasemi was summoned to meet with Foreign Affairs officials. Iran, however, has only stepped up a crackdown on protesters, and rebuffed Canada's claim to a stake in Mr. Bahari's case.
Iran has not had an ambassador in Ottawa since the Canadian government rejected two of its proposed candidates for the job in 2007.
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