November 27, 2020
Canadian police have arrested a young woman and charged her in the death of Mohammad Mehdi Amin Sadeghieh, an active dissident living near Toronto.
The police announcement of the arrest discounted any political motive in the killing. “While the investigation is ongoing, investigators do not believe there is a connection between the victim’s political views and his murder,” the York Regional Police statement said.
Many members of the Iranian-Canadian community had been quite vocal in speculating that the victim was killed by the Islamic Republic because of his opposition to the regime. Photos on his Facebook page showed him at events holding signs, including one that compared Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to the Nazi SS.
Known in Canada as Mehdi Amin, the deceased was a former board member of the Iranian Canadian Congress, which primarily advocates on behalf of the Iranian immigrant community in Canada. He fled Iran 20 years ago.
The 58-year-old was found dead in his home in Markham, a Toronto suburb. His body was discovered October 21 after co-workers reported he had not shown up for work that morning and there was no response to their phone calls to his home. (See last issue of Iran Times, page four.)
The person charged in the death is a 27-year-old woman, Charmaine Anne Guisalta, who also uses the last name of Samonte.
She was charged with second degree murder, not first degree murder. First degree murder refers to a killing planned in advance. Second degree murder refers to a killing that is spontaneous, often the result of an argument.
The woman was arrested November 4, 14 days after the killing. The police did not say what led them to her or what her relationship was to Amin.
When the police announced that Amin had been murdered, they said his black 2015 Honda CRV was missing from his residence. In the announcement of the woman’s arrest, they said they had discovered the car in Toronto October 30. Some suspected evidence in the car perhaps fingerprints led the police to the woman, but they said nothing about that.