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“It would be difficult even if this individual were a Canadian citizen and born in Canada,” Prof. Braun said.

“This is a government that has disregarded the norms of international behaviour for a long time, has persecuted many of its citizens and is holding American citizens who are accused of espionage,” he said, referring to Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 28, arrested in July, 2009, after they were detained while hiking along the Iraq border. They remain in Tehran and face charges of spying that carry a punishment of 10 years in prison.

“The United States is a superpower, and it isn’t able to free its own people.”

Mr. Malekpour came to Canada in 2004, after which he became a permanent resident. According to his supporters, who have set up a website campaigning for his release, Mr. Malekpour worked as a freelance web developer and programmer, and designed a program allowing photos to be uploaded and posted on websites.

“He loved computer and was pretty good at that,” Mr. Malekpour’s wife, Fatima Eftekhari, 32, told the Richmond Hill Liberal newspaper. She said her husband’s program, to which he attached his name as designer, was used to create part of an adult website, unbeknownst to him.

“It’s like a nightmare,” she said.

In October, 2008, Mr. Malekpour was detained in Iran after he returned to his country of birth to visit his ill father. He has been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison ever since.

Prof. Braun suggested Mr. Malekpour may have been targetted by the Iranian regime for his web skills.