Homa Hoodfar is talking publicly about her experience behind bars in Iran's notorious Evin Prison.
The retired Concordia University professor tells CBC she was psychologically tortured by guards during dozens of interrogations over the course of her nearly 4 month detention.
She says the guards tried to break her spirit and Hoodfar says she worried she would never be released. She says a week into her ordeal, she decided to turn the experience into research and describes how she scribbled notes on her cell walls with her toothbrush.
The 65 year old says she was accused of dabbling in feminism and later charged with collaborating with a hostile government, but says there was never any evidence.
Hoodfar was suddenly released last week after Canada secured diplomatic help from Oman. She believes she was taken as a pawn by anti West forces in the country, to embarrass and put pressure on the elected government led by President Hassan Rouhani.
Born in Iran and with family in the country, she worries about those she left behind and says she's heartbroken that she won't ever be able to return.