Another senior member of the Iranian regime has been found living in Canada, bringing the number to 16, according to immigration officials.
The Canada Border Services Agency also said it has sent another one of the alleged officials to the Immigration and Refugee Board for a deportation hearing.
Seven deportation hearings are now underway against suspected senior members of the Iranian regime, in addition to two hearings that have already resulted in deportation orders.
Updated numbers are as of October 15.
The Canadian government will not identify the members of the regime whose cases are ongoing.
“In practice, the Immigration and Refugee Board does not provide information on any cases that are not public,” the Refugee Board said in a statement to Global News.
These cases are the result of a policy adopted in November 2022 that prevented high-level Iranian government officials from entering Canada.
These measures were imposed in response to the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and killed by Iran’s morality police for showing her hair in public.
A woman holds a photo of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in Iran, during a protest in Bucharest, Romania, October 1, 2022.
Vadim Gerda/AFP
His killing sparked demonstrations that were brutally suppressed by the clerical-run regime of Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini.
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Canada responded by designating the Iranian government as a regime engaged in “terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations.”
This policy effectively prevented tens of thousands of Iranian officials and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering Canada.
The Iranian regime and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards lead the so-called “Axis of Resistance” that works to promote violence and instability in the Middle East.
Iran is the main sponsor of Hamas, which ignited a regional conflict by attacking Israel on October 7, 2023. Tehran also supports Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
The Islamic Republic has also been linked to several recent plots to assassinate opponents and critics, including former Liberal MP Irwin Cotler.
Global News revealed that deportation orders were issued this year against two officials, Majid Iranmanesh and Syed Salman Samani.
But only one of them has been deported so far, and the remaining cases have been handled confidentially, after the Immigration and Refugee Board banned the press from the hearings.
Majid Iranmanesh (left) and Seyed Salman Samani were ordered to be deported, as they are prominent members of the Iranian regime.
Meanwhile, an Iranian national convicted of helping Tehran evade sanctions appeared on Wednesday before the Immigration and Refugee Board, where he is undergoing deportation proceedings.
Amin Yousefjam, also known as Amin Cohen, was convicted in the United States of shipping sensitive materials to Iran in violation of sanctions.
The Canada Border Services Agency is now trying to deport him, claiming that he undermines Canada’s efforts to contain the threat posed by the Iranian regime.
Although his deportation case was supposed to begin on October 28, it was delayed when his lawyers resigned, citing a “breakdown” in the lawyer-client relationship.
In an appearance this week, the Immigration and Refugee Board postponed the hearing again until February 25, in order to give Yousvigam’s new lawyer time to prepare.
Arash (left) and Amin Yosvigam, also known as Arash and Amin Cohen.
The Canada Border Services Agency wrote in its report that Youssefjam contributed to “an increased security threat to Canada related to terrorism and nuclear weapons attack.”
His brother Arash Yousefjam He was also convicted. The brothers used Ontario’s name change system to adopt new identities as Amin and Dr. Arash Cohen.
The Ontario government said it is considering reforming its policies to prevent dangerous criminals from hiding their previous identities.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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