Winnipeg man, 85, deported to Iran despite family's pleas for compassion
CBC
A Winnipeg man's family wasn't able to say goodbye to him before immigration officials began the process of deporting him to Iran on Thursday.
Masoud Vaezzadeh and his family wanted to say goodbye to his 85-year-old father at the airport, but officials with the Canadian Border Services Agency wouldn't allow it.
"They would not allow me to speak to him over the phone. They said because he's detained. It's like he was a criminal, he totally was treated like a criminal, worse than a criminal," Masoud said.
Masoud's father, Mirzaali Vaezzadeh, has been living in Canada with no status since 1997, when he and his family came to Canada. Mirzaali's wife's application for permanent residence was granted in 2003, but his was denied.
Officials with the CBSA denied his application because of his work for the Iranian intelligence organization, SAVAK, in the decades before the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of the Shah in 1979.
Mirzaali's family and lawyer say his involvement in the organization, which has been accused of human rights violations, including torture and killings, was minimal.
"The government of Iran has been hostile to people who worked for the Shah," said lawyer David Matas.
"It's decades ago, and he did have an extremely insignificant and short-term role."
Mirzaali quit working for SAVAK after he learned it was engaged in human rights violations, Masoud said.
"He shouldn't be punished for something that was done in his presence, but not by him," Masoud said.
"And he was not part of any of it and in fact, he left. Like I said, as soon as he found out what was going on behind closed doors … he didn't want to be part of any of it."
Immigration officials say Mirzaali knew about SAVAK's crimes by 1964, but kept working for them until 1970. During his time working for the organization, Mirzaali reviewed the files of around 20,000 people, referring 8,000 to intelligence officials, according to a 2017 federal court decision denying Mirzaali's application for a judicial review of his case.
The judge wrote in the decision that Mirzaali "acknowledged that, once referred, the individuals could be subject to torture, detention, mistreatment, and even death."
Matas wrote a letter to CBSA, asking for a delay to Mirzaali's deportation on the ground that he and his wife are both in frail health, and that five years had passed since his application for permanent residence was originally denied.
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