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UN slams Canada over assassin; Nine-year process to deport man too hasty, world body says
Stewart Bell
National Post (Canada)
A United Nations committee has accused Canada of flouting human rights rules when it deported intelligence agent Mansour Ahani, a member of the Iranian government's foreign assassination branch.
A United Nations committee has accused Canada of "flouting" international human rights rules when it deported a member of the Iranian government's foreign assassinations branch.
Although it took the Canadian government nine years to deport Iranian intelligence agent Mansour Ahani, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Ottawa was too quick to send him back to Tehran in 2002.
In a 21-page decision, it said the "process leading to [Ahani's] expulsion was deficient" because Canada failed to "determine appropriately" whether he might be tortured by Iranian authorities upon his return.
The Geneva-based committee has instructed Canada to compensate Ahani for any torture he might have suffered and to take steps to ensure he is not mistreated in Iran. The panel gave Canada 90 days to comply.
But there is no evidence to suggest Ahani has been harmed since he was sent home two years ago. Prior to his removal, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled he was not at risk and could be safely deported.
Canadian authorities received the ruling on Friday and have not responded, but immigration officials said the committee's decision was not binding and the courts had already decided that Ahani's deportation was proper.
"We're taking it seriously," said Huguette Shouldice, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency. "We're looking at it, seeing if there's anything we can learn from it and use. However, we feel that the Canadian courts have ruled on this."
The human rights committee was set up by the UN to ensure that countries comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a 1966 treaty. Canada is a signatory to the agreement.
Its members include delegates from Britain, France and Australia, but also representatives of states whose security forces are routinely accused of human rights abuses such as torture, notably Egypt and Tunisia.
Ahani came to Canada in 1991 and made a refugee claim, but he was arrested in 1993 after an investigation by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) found he was working for Iran's intelligence service, MOIS.
Before coming to Toronto, Ahani had trained with an Iranian government hit squad. A year after his arrival, he travelled to Italy on a fake passport to take part in the attempted assassination of an Iranian dissident, according to CSIS.
The Federal Court of Canada ruled that Ahani was indeed a foreign agent and a threat to national security, but Toronto refugee lawyers stalled his deportation for years by launching repeated appeals.
His last appeal was to the Supreme Court, where he and alleged Canadian Tamil Tigers leader Manickavasagam Suresh argued they should not be expelled because they would be tortured in their homelands.
Government lawyers billed the case as a test that would decide whether Canada would become a safe haven for terrorists.
The court ruled that terrorists could only be deported to countries where they faced torture if their presence here posed a danger to Canadians.
The court said Ahani did not face a risk of torture, but Suresh's case was sent back for another assessment of the risk. He is still here.
Stewart Bell
National Post (Canada)
A United Nations committee has accused Canada of flouting human rights rules when it deported intelligence agent Mansour Ahani, a member of the Iranian government's foreign assassination branch.
A United Nations committee has accused Canada of "flouting" international human rights rules when it deported a member of the Iranian government's foreign assassinations branch.
Although it took the Canadian government nine years to deport Iranian intelligence agent Mansour Ahani, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Ottawa was too quick to send him back to Tehran in 2002.
In a 21-page decision, it said the "process leading to [Ahani's] expulsion was deficient" because Canada failed to "determine appropriately" whether he might be tortured by Iranian authorities upon his return.
The Geneva-based committee has instructed Canada to compensate Ahani for any torture he might have suffered and to take steps to ensure he is not mistreated in Iran. The panel gave Canada 90 days to comply.
But there is no evidence to suggest Ahani has been harmed since he was sent home two years ago. Prior to his removal, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled he was not at risk and could be safely deported.
Canadian authorities received the ruling on Friday and have not responded, but immigration officials said the committee's decision was not binding and the courts had already decided that Ahani's deportation was proper.
"We're taking it seriously," said Huguette Shouldice, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency. "We're looking at it, seeing if there's anything we can learn from it and use. However, we feel that the Canadian courts have ruled on this."
The human rights committee was set up by the UN to ensure that countries comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a 1966 treaty. Canada is a signatory to the agreement.
Its members include delegates from Britain, France and Australia, but also representatives of states whose security forces are routinely accused of human rights abuses such as torture, notably Egypt and Tunisia.
Ahani came to Canada in 1991 and made a refugee claim, but he was arrested in 1993 after an investigation by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) found he was working for Iran's intelligence service, MOIS.
Before coming to Toronto, Ahani had trained with an Iranian government hit squad. A year after his arrival, he travelled to Italy on a fake passport to take part in the attempted assassination of an Iranian dissident, according to CSIS.
The Federal Court of Canada ruled that Ahani was indeed a foreign agent and a threat to national security, but Toronto refugee lawyers stalled his deportation for years by launching repeated appeals.
His last appeal was to the Supreme Court, where he and alleged Canadian Tamil Tigers leader Manickavasagam Suresh argued they should not be expelled because they would be tortured in their homelands.
Government lawyers billed the case as a test that would decide whether Canada would become a safe haven for terrorists.
The court ruled that terrorists could only be deported to countries where they faced torture if their presence here posed a danger to Canadians.
The court said Ahani did not face a risk of torture, but Suresh's case was sent back for another assessment of the risk. He is still here.
