Malekpour, a 35-year-old software engineer who is a permanent resident of Canada, but not a citizen, was imprisoned while visiting his terminally ill father in Iran and convicted of “Internet offenses” that included “designing and moderating adult content web sites.”

Ghassemi-Shall, 36, who holds dual Canadian-Iranian citizenship, was convicted of espionage. His brother, Alborz, was also convicted and died mysteriously in Iran's notorious Evin prison, where in 2003 Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi was imprisoned and also died under mysterious circumstances. (Her family has alleged torture at the hands of prison officials.)

Stephen Scharper, director of the Toronto chapter of the ecumenical group Action By Christians For the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), says there's an urgent need for the Canadian government to take up Malekpour's case as it is currently under review by Iran's Supreme Court.

“He could be executed at any moment,” he told The Register.

“For us, whenever torture is done in the name of a state or if a state is indifferent to torture, I think we are compelled to speak up.”  

Life for Malekpour's wife, Fatima Eftekhari, a University of Toronto postdoctoral student, has been a “nightmare” for the past three years. Eftekhari is constantly waiting for the phone to ring, waiting to hear her husband's voice. Each phone call continues the hope he is alive and could return to Canada one day.

Eftekhari is continuing her fight to save her husband from being executed and is calling upon the Canadian government to intervene. She stood alongside the crowd at Massey College to raise awareness about her husband's plight.

“When I'm not emotionally drained, something inside me is on fire and comes out,” she told the crowd.

Ghassemi-Shall's wife, Antonella Mega, is also relying upon the Canadian government's help.

“The hope keeps him going. He knows he hasn't done anything. We believe, hope and trust in the authorities that they'll do the right thing and release him,” she said.

But the Canadian government says its ability to help the two men is constrained by a couple of factors. In Ghassemi-Shall's case, Iran does not recognize his dual citizenship, said foreign affairs spokesperson Alain Cacchione.

“As such, Canadian-Iranians are considered to be Iranian under local law. The consular assistance that may be provided by Canadian consular officials to Canadian-Iranian nationals is very limited,” he said in an e-mail to The Register.  

For Malekpour, his status is problematic.

“Unfortunately, there is limited scope for direct intervention in this case since the person involved is not a Canadian citizen. Although we have asked the Iranian authorities to allow us to see Mr. Malekpour on humanitarian grounds, we have not received a response to date,” Cacchione said.

On Feb. 3, the head of human rights for the United Nations raised alarm about the increase in executions by the Iranian government this new year. It has been reported that 66 people were executed in January, most of them for drug offenses. But at least three involved political prisoners, according to the UN.