Hamed Esmaeilion
حامد اسماعیلیون
Hamed Esmaeilion (52462694032).jpg
Esmaeilion during a rally in Ottawa in 2022
Born (1977-03-12) March 12, 1977 (age 45)
Kermanshah, Imperial State of Iran
NationalityIranian
EducationUniversity of Tabriz
Occupation(s)Social activist, author and dentist
TitlePresident and spokesman of The Association of Victims' Families of Flight PS752
Spouse
Parisa Eghbalian
​
(died 2020)​
ChildrenReera (deceased)
WebsiteTwitter account

Hamed Esmaeilion (Persian: حامد اسماعیلیون, born March 12, 1977) is an Iranian-Canadian social activist, author, and dentist.[1] Esmaeilion won Hooshang Golshiri Literary Awards for two of his books, Dr. Datis and Thyme is not Fair. Esmaeilion is president and spokesman of The Association of Victims' Families of Flight PS752.[2][3]

Early life and career[edit]

His parents were originally from Arak, Iran and moved to Kermanshah where Hamed Esmaeilion was born and grew up. He studied Dentistry in University of Tabriz between 1995 and 2000. Afterwards, he worked and lived in various parts of Iran, such as Golestan, Mazandaran and Tehran provinces for several years. He immigrated to Canada together with his family in 2010 and lived in Richmond Hill, Ontario.[4][5][1]

Literary life[edit]

As a hardworking Persian blogger, Esmaeilion began his literary career by publishing two collections of short stories, Thyme is not Fair (2008, winner of Houshang Golshiri Award) and The Canary Owner (2010). He published two novels, Dr Datis (2013, Zavosh) and Gamasiab Has No Fish (2014) which was also awarded the Golshiri Award.[6][7]

Death of his wife and daughter[edit]

Main article: Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752
From left to right, Parisa Eghbalian, Reera Esmaeilion and Hamed Esmaeilion.

Parisa Eghbalian (Esmaeilion's wife) and Reera Esmaeilion (his daughter - age of 9),[failed verification] flew with Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 from Tehran to Kyiv on 8 January 2020. This flight was shot down by two surface-to-air missiles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after takeoff,[8] killing all 176 passengers and crew aboard, including Esmaeilion's wife and daughter. This incident happened while Iran airspace should have been closed before attack due to ongoing military activities at the time.[9] This flight which was supposed to take off on 5:15 (local time) got delayed and eventually it flew on 6:12 and got struck after a few minutes and crashed near city of Parand.[10]

Esmaeilion is one of the founders and also the president and the spokesman of The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, which he said were trying to "take legal action for this crime" and "commemorate the memory of the dead".[11][12] He was later featured in 752 Is Not a Number, a Canadian documentary film, directed by Babak Payami and released in 2022.[13]

Death threats[edit]

Esmaeilion has been politically and socially active since 2020 when his wife and daughter were killed. In October 2020, at the same time as Mehdi Amin (an Iranian activist) was killed in Toronto, Esmaeilion announced that he had also received death threats, which he attributed to the government of Iran.[14][non-primary source needed]

Opposition to Iranian government[edit]

Iranian protesters in Berlin in the rally organized by Esmaeilion.

On October 1, 2022, Esmailiyoun organized a global demonstration against the Islamic Republic for Iranians living abroad, in the wake of death of Mahsa Amini to support Iranian's protests against the regime. These rallies took place in more than 150 cities throughout the world against the Islamic Republic. The largest protests happened in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, London, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Brussels, Berlin, Rome, Los Angeles, Toronto. It is estimated that in Richmond Hill, Ontario more than 50 thousand protesters attended the rally.[15][16][17][18] Esmaeilion organized a demonstration in Berlin on October 22, 2022 and invited Iranians in Europe to be the voice for protesters in Iran. The number of protesters was estimated at 80,000[19] to 100,000.[20]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Dr. Hamed Esmaeilion - Aurora E&E Dentistry
  2. ^ ‘Our lives are destroyed’: families take fight for truth of flight 752 to ICC
  3. ^ Families of Flight PS752 victims say RCMP isn't doing enough to help Ukraine's criminal probe
  4. ^ نویسنده جسور، دندانپزشک محافظه‌کار/ گپ‌و گفتی با حامد اسماعیلیون
  5. ^ سرنگونی پرواز ۷۵۲ به روایت یک «نویسندۀ نانجیب»
  6. ^ Hamed Esmaeilion Recommends
  7. ^ Shataw Naseri (5 June 2014). "Houshang Golshiri Awards". The Parsagon Review. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Iran Says It Unintentionally Shot Down Ukrainian Airliner". The New York Times. 10 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. ^ ‘Recipe for disaster’: Experts say Iran airspace should’ve been closed before attack
  10. ^ Iran under pressure to explain Tehran plane crash after 176 killed in Ukrainian jet disaster
  11. ^ خانواده‌های قربانیان هواپیمای اوکراینی: تضمینی وجود دارد ایران به هواپیمای دیگری شلیک نکند؟
  12. ^ حامد اسماعیلیون: با اظهارات نماینده مجلس یکبار دیگر هواپیما سقوط کرد
  13. ^ Nicole Thompson, "In doc ‘752 Is Not A Number,’ Payami seeks to humanize victims of tragedy". Toronto Star, September 11, 2022.
  14. ^ ترور کنشگر ایرانی در خانه‌اش در تورنتو و تهدید به قتل فعالان ایرانی مقیم
  15. ^ Worldwide Rallies Show Unprecedented Support For Iran Protests
  16. ^ Organizer Of Global Rallies Calls For Expulsion Of Tehran’s Envoys
  17. ^ Global Protests Planned in Solidarity with Iranians
  18. ^ "More than 50K attend Richmond Hill, Ont. protest against Iranian government - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Iran protests: Huge rally in Berlin in support". BBC News. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Tens of thousands march in Berlin in solidarity with Iran protests". ABC News. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

External links[edit]

External video
video icon Activist Hamed Esmaeilion fights against the Supreme Leader of Iran and calls for justice for victims of the Flight PS752, CNN Connect.