Iran says missing Canadian journalist violated passport rules

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that missing Canadian journalist Dorothy Parvaz, violated passport rules as she entered Syria to cover domestic unrest. Parvaz disappeared on April 29 after leaving Qatar to report on the political violence in Syria for Al Jazeera’s English news channel. Iranian official Ramin Mehmanparast said Iranian-born Parvaz was travelling with several passports, including an expired Iranian one. He said his country does not recognize Iranians having multiple nationalities. Although Al Jazeera said it was told by Syrian officials that Parvaz was sent to Iran after being detained in Damascus, Mehmanparast did not confirm this. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department said in a statement that it is “pressing for information” from Syrian and Iranian authorities about Parvaz’s whereabouts. The 39-year-old journalist was born in Iran but moved to Vancouver as a teenager before graduating from the University of British Columbia. She holds Canadian, American and Iranian citizenship.

CBC News