Man and woman appear in court over murder of Iranian activist in Canada

Two people have been charged with the murder of an Iranian activist in Canada, in a case which has intensified fears over transnational repression of critics of the regime in Tehran.Masood Masjoody, a former university maths teacher, went missing in early February in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia. He had been critical of Iran’s theocratic regime and the exiled family of the former shah.Officials announced on Saturday they had arrested Mehdi Ahmadzadeh Razavi, 48, of Maple Ridge in British Columbia, and Arezou Soltani, 45, of North Vancouver. Both were charged with first-degree murder. Police also revealed they had discovered Masjoody’s remains in the city of Mission, British Columbia, on 6 March.Sgt Freda Fong, a spokesperson for the homicide unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said the motive was still under investigation but the victim and suspects knew each other.“We understand this case has impacted the Iranian community and has generated widespread concern,” added Fong.Razavi and Soltani did not enter pleas during a brief appearance by video in court in British Columbia on Monday. They spoke only to confirm their identities.Masjoody was behind a string of lawsuits against the Iranian government and members of the exiled monarchist faction. He sued Razavi and several others for defamation in September 2024 and Soltani was named in a subsequent defamation suit.He had also launched cases against the social media platform X as well as Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah, and and his former employers, Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.“His conduct bears many, if not all, of the hallmarks of vexatious litigation,” said Justice Bruce Butler of the British Columbia court of appeal in 2025, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper.Masjoody lost a 2021 lawsuit in which he alleged the university and his former colleagues were involved in a “conspiracy, weaponising my personal life against me, defamation, and widespread cover-up” in part enabled by “malicious efforts on behalf of Khamenei’s regime”. Masjoody was himself accused of sexual harassment and making misogynistic and violent social media posts targeting female colleaguesEarlier this month, activists told the Guardian they feared Masjoody’s criticism of the regime made him a target. Canada’s intelligence agency has also warned about foreign interference from Iran and specifically threats to individuals.Fong said at that time that “any speculation over whether Iran was involved would be premature and compromise the integrity of the investigation”.Masjoody’s killing has prompted doubts about Canada’s response to academics who say they have also been targeted by Iran.“The Islamic Republic has a long tradition and history of physically eliminating its opponents extraterritorially,” said Maral Karimi, a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University who specialises in social movements in Iran.“They are really not taking this seriously until one of us dies, and now Masjoody is dead.”