Top Iranian official loses bid to bar public from deportation hearing – National
An alleged senior member of the Iranian regime who has been living in Canada has lost his bid to prevent the public from being deported.
In a decision issued in Toronto on Tuesday, the Immigration and Refugee Board rejected Abbas Omidi’s request for a hearing.
The ruling stated that “concealing the identity of Mr. Omidi will have a strong negative/negative effect on public interest in the open court system.”
Global News reported on Omidi’s case last month but was not allowed to name him due to a publication ban imposed by the Refugee Board.
However, Global News fought this decision and the Refugee Board has now lifted the restrictions in a decision that found no evidence that Omidi would face any danger as a result of media coverage of his case.
“I cannot find sufficient and sufficient evidence to establish that Mr. Omidi and his family face a real and substantial risk of harm if Omidi is exposed in media coverage,” the ruling said.
“I do not find that Mr. Omidi’s request satisfies the requirement that the opening of the case poses a serious risk to important public interests.”
Omidi is one of 28 suspected high-ranking officials of Iran’s repressive government seized during a crackdown on immigration that began in 2022.
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He is the latest to be publicly exposed.
The Canada Border Services Agency wants to deport him on the grounds that he served in a high-ranking position in his country’s Islamic state.
He had appeared in court on February 4, but instead said the Refugee Board should hold the hearing behind closed doors.
To support his request for a closed hearing, he submitted news articles, including one about the recent disappearance of BC anti-government activist Masood Masjoody.
But the Refugee Board said the demonstrations “did not provide conclusive evidence of a real and serious danger.”
The decision noted that a letter sent by Iranian Canadian Legal Professionals stated that “Iranian Canadians will be greatly affected by the non-disclosure of Mr. Omidi’s name.”
“For Iranian Canadians fleeing persecution by the Iranian regime, the desire to know who among them in their community was a high-ranking official of the regime is not a matter of curiosity,” the statement said.
“I find that this information has a significant impact on their personal safety, as there are inherent physical and emotional safety risks in associating with people directly related to their persecution.”
The Canadian government has barred senior Iranian officials from the country after Tehran cracked down on women’s rights protests sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini, who was jailed for showing off her hair.
These punishments began to be rushed after the anti-government protests that began in December were brutally suppressed by the government forces, killing thousands of people.
It was unclear what impact the war on Iran that began on February 28 would have on Ottawa’s efforts to expel members of the regime, past and present, who critics say have been using Canada as a safe haven.
Even before the war started, immigration officers were trying hard to persuade the Refugee Board to deport officials to Canada.
The IRB has allowed five of the accused officials to stay in Canada, and only one has been deported, while the others are on trial.
Most of the officials heard their hearings in secret. Only five deportation cases have been made public, including Omidi’s.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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