Canada moves to deport five alleged senior Iranian officials

Canadian immigration authorities have initiated deportation proceedings against five suspected senior Iranian government officials residing in Canada.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has alleged that these individuals held senior positions in Iran’s government and has requested the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to conduct hearings on these cases, as reported by Global News.

This move is seen as the Canadian government's response to ongoing appeals from the Iranian diaspora to bar regime-affiliated officials from entering the country, particularly in light of the Iranian authorities' brutal crackdown on the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022.

While the Trudeau government adopted sanctions in November 2022, barring individuals linked to the Iranian state from entering Canada, the first deportation order was initiated in February 2024.

The unprecedented protests in Iran were sparked by the death of Mahsa Jina Amini while in custody of the so-called morality police. Iranian security forces crackdown, resulting in the deaths of at least 550 protesters, was condemned as a crime against humanity by a UN fact-finding mission.

The policy previously resulted in deportation orders for Majid Iranmanesh, a science advisor, and Seyed Salman Samani, a former deputy interior minister, according to Global News.

In a departure from previous cases, the hearings for the five latest deportation proceedings are being conducted behind closed doors, with the government withholding their names.

The deportation hearings are typically public unless the individual has filed a refugee claim, as reported by Global News, citing CBSA.

In March 2024, CBC Radio exclusively reported that the Aban Families For Justice, representing victims of the 2019 Iranian protests, were appealing to Canada's Justice Minister Arif Virani to halt the deportation of Salman Samani.

They allege that Samani, a former Iranian deputy interior minister, was complicit in the brutal crackdown that led to the deaths of 1,500 protesters in 2019.

One of the group's founders, Soran Mansournia, told CBC Radio that he hopes Canada would hold Samani accountable for human rights abuses, using "universal jurisdiction."

Despite their letter, Samani's deportation has reportedly not been halted and the group did not receive a response from the Canadian government.

In 2012, Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran and closed its embassy in Tehran, citing multiple concerns. These included Iran's support for the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war, non-compliance with UN resolutions on its nuclear activities, persistent threats against Israel, and the safety of Canadian diplomats following attacks on the British embassy in Iran.

Further straining bilateral relations, Canada recently escalated its stance by designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. This decision, announced on June 19, was strongly supported by the families of the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which the IRGC downed in January 2020.

The designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity, as articulated by a Public Safety spokesperson to Iran International’s Negar Mojtahedi, targets individuals who have actively engaged in or significantly contributed to terrorism and acts of violence. This classification enables Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to deny visas, entry, or continued residence to these individuals in Canada.