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Another family had to welcome government minders into their private mourning ceremony, said an Iranian-Canadian briefed on their situation.

“They know the anger, they know they are furious,” said Masih Alinejad, a widely followed Iranian journalist based in New York. “They know that if these families came out in public and shared their pain and put the blame on the Islamic Republic, the whole of society in Iran would be united against the Islamic Republic. They are scared of that.”

Most of the reports could not be independently verified by the National Post, but details are similar between them, and aspects of one case are documented on video.

The federal government, which has consular officials in Iran trying to meet with families, is aware of the alleged mistreatment, said John Babcock, a spokesman for Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The government is especially concerned that victims’ remains be allowed to return to this country, he said.

Photo by Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency via Reuters

“Canada is deeply concerned by reports of Iranian authorities pressuring Iranian-Canadians not to repatriate remains to Canada,” said Babcock. “The Iranian government must respect the will of the families when it comes to the repatriation of the bodies: this is a message that the minister of Foreign Affairs has conveyed directly to his Iranian counterpart.”

They know the anger

Canada will also stress the issue at a meeting of the “international coordination and response group” for victims of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in London on Thursday, said Babcock.