Former Iranian official tells Canadian deportation hearing he was unaware of regime abuses
Global News
Seyed Salman Samani told the Immigration and Refugee Board he tried to protect human rights.
A former senior Iranian official facing deportation from Canada told a hearing Thursday he was unaware his boss had ordered police to kill protesters in 2019.
In testimony before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), Seyed Salman Samani said he knew nothing about a directive to use lethal force issued by his superior.
Samani, who came to Canada after serving as Iran’s deputy minister of interior, acknowledged he reported to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli.
According to the U.S., Fazli approved the use of deadly force against demonstrations that erupted in November 2019 after Iran’s so-called morality police killed a woman for showing her hair.
But Samani said he had no knowledge of that and was so “troubled” by the events at the time that he decided to leave government.
Asked why he remained on the job until August 2021, he said he decided to stay with the interior ministry to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is trying to deport Samani, alleging that as a senior official in Iran’s repressive regime, he is inadmissible to Canada.
He is the second Iranian official to face removal from Canada under sanctions adopted by the government last year.
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