Iranian-Canadians Live In Fear Of Regime Agents
Iranian dissidents continue to suffer threats from the Islamic Republic's agents and live in fear of imminent harm in Canada, according to a report published by the Canadian outlet Global News.
The report covers not only the lives of journalists and political activists but also those from other professions living abroad who feel unsafe.
Canada has a particularly serious problem with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of regime-connected officials on its soil, according to a lengthy Global News investigation. An infamous example is Mahmoud Khavari, ex-CEO of Iran’s national bank who has been wanted by Interpol and reportedly fled to Canada in 2011 after being accused of embezzling $2.6 billion.
As part of its efforts to address this issue, Canada has expanded targeted sanctions against certain members of the IRGC group and amended its Magnitsky legislation in order to allow the government to go after the assets of Iranians implicated in human rights abuses and corruption, but the dissidents say that these measures do not suffice.
Prime Minister Trudeau has refused to declare the IRGC a terror group because some Iranians are compelled to join the group as part of their mandatory military service.
Nonetheless, the diaspora contends that if the IRGC were on the terrorist list, members who have gained Canadian citizenship would be liable for crimes committed overseas and subject to much harsher penalties.
