December 31, 2021
Canada has deported to Iran an 85-year-old man because he worked for SAVAK before the revolution.
deported by Canada, although his wife received
permanent residency.
Masoud Vaezzadeh and his family wanted to say goodbye to his aged father at the airport, but officials with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) wouldn’t allow it, CBC News reported.
“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, had been living in Canada with no legal 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 1979 Revolution.
Mirzaali’s family and lawyer say his involvement with 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.”
Canadian immigration officials say Mirzaali knew about SAVAK’s crimes by 1964, but kept working for the agency 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.”
Lawyer 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.
“They’re separating them after 65 years [of marriage] when they’re sick and need each other most,” Masoud said.
His father was arrested and detained December 8 and after a trip to the hospital was sent to the Winnipeg airport.
Family members broke down in tears as they argued with border officials, according to CBC News.
On December 9, Masoud’s father was put on a flight to Toronto, and then to Dubai, and finally to Tehran, where he’s worried his father will be executed.
It is common for Iran to refuse to accept Iranians deported by other countries, most of whom are guilty of crimes such as drug dealing. In this case, however, the Islamic Republic decided to accept a SAVAK employee. He has since been questioned twice by the authorities.