Murder victim and suspects were feuding political activists, entangled in court disputes
Two people charged with first degree murder of activist, mathematician Masood Masjoody.
Almost a week after the United States and Israel invaded Iran and killed Ayatollah Khamenei, the body was found of a Burnaby mathematician who opposed both Iran’s Islamic dictatorship and the son of the last Shah of Iran.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced March 14 two suspects were charged with first degree murder after the March 6 discovery of the remains of Masood Masjoody, 45, in Mission.
Police arrested political activists Mehdi Ahmadzadeh Razavi, 48, of Maple Ridge, and Arezou Soltani, 45, of North Vancouver, on March 13. Their next Provincial Court date is March 16 in Vancouver.
Sgt. Freda Fong, the IHIT public information officer, said the motive remains under investigation.
Masjoody sued both Razavi and Soltani in 2024 in B.C. Supreme Court. A two-day trial in the claim against Soltani was scheduled to begin March 5, the day before his body was found.
Complaint to Poilievre
Last December, Masjoody wrote a letter to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. He said the two were part of a group called the Canadian Iranian Wakuppers Foundation (CIWF) and favoured Reza Pahlavi, the U.S.-based son of the last Shah of Iran who is campaigning for Donald Trump’s support to become Iran’s new leader.
Further, Masjoody claimed in the letter to Poilievre that the two collaborated with Hamas supporters to shut down Poilievre’s February 2024 meet-and-greet at the True Confections dessert restaurant in the West End.
Masjoody included a photograph of Razavi and Soltani with Poilievre at what appears to be a Lunar New Year event in 2025.
Poilievre’s office has not responded to theBreaker.news for comment.
Society purpose
Soltani and Razavi and two others founded CIWF in June 2023.
The society’s B.C. registration said its purpose is: “Identifying and exposing the individuals, organizations and activities affiliated with the Islamic regime of Iran; who not only undermine democracy and violate human rights in Iran but also invade Canadian borders. Supporting people affected by the Islamic regime of Iran in Canada. Raising awareness about the influence and activities of individuals and organizations affiliated with the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which promotes radical Islamic theocracy and endangers democracy and human rights in Canada.”
Soltani lawsuit defence
Burnaby RCMP began investigating Masjoody’s disappearance on Feb. 2, a day he was expected to be in court.
In April 2024, Masjoody accused Soltani and two others in CIWF of collaborating “to harass, undermine and discredit pro-democracy Iranian activists.”
In her statement of defence, tailor shop employee Soltani denied Masjoody’s allegations and called his lawsuit a frivolous and vexatious attempt to silence her from commenting on matters of public interest.
Soltani said she became politically active in September 2022 after Iran’s morality police killed Mahsa Amini. She said she invited Masjoody to her boyfriend’s home in January 2023 to discuss organizing. Soltani said she and others pledged support for Masjoody’s hunger strike to protest relations between universities in Canada and the Iranian regime.
But Soltani had a falling out with Masjoody, calling his politics “often Trumpist and anti-feminist” and that he allegedly used vulgar language and tried to take down a Canadian flag at a September 2023 protest.
Soltani’s defence statement also mentioned that some of the same Vancouver activists who organized the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in memory of Amini “seemed to be joining pro-Hamas protesters” at the Vancouver Art Gallery after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on innocent Israelis.
“This was odd as it is a well-known fact that the regime in Iran is Hamas’ main parent organization or ally,” Soltani’s filing said.
Soltani and Masjoody also traded accusations about relatives. In her defence statement, Soltani said Masjoody had an uncle in the MEK, also known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. On social media, Masjoody accused Soltani’s uncle of being in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Canada removed MEK from the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities in 2012. IRGC was added in 2024.
Court battles
Masjoody obtained a doctorate in mathematics from Simon Fraser University in 2019 and worked as a sessional instructor from 2018 to 2020 in the Department of Mathematics, until he was fired.
Masjoody sued a former colleague and SFU, which he accused of harbouring Iranian spies.
In May 2025, a B.C. Court of Appeal judge said Masjoody had wasted court resources in suing the Burnaby Beacon newsletter and reporter Dustin Godfrey, after the outlet reported on the SFU lawsuit.
“Newspaper reports on judicial decisions are a matter of public interest protected by the Charter,” ruled Justice Bruce Butler, who also banned Masjoody from starting or continuing appeals.