Kurdish Refugee Faces Deportation F

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Kurdish Refugee Faces Deportation From Canada To Iran

DATE: October 4, 1997

FROM: James C. Kennedy, MD, Ph.D.
      Department of Oncology
      Queen's University
      Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6
      CANADA

      telephone     (613) 544-2631, ext. 4529#
      fax           (613) 544-9708
      e-mail        kennedyj at post.queensu.ca
=======================================================

     We are trying to prevent the deportation to Iran of a young
Kurdish refugee, on the grounds that he faces certain
imprisonment and torture and possible execution if Canada hands
him over to the Iranian authorities.
     His lawyer has asked me to try to obtain letters and
documents from authoritative sources, to support the claim that
the refugee would be placed in very serious danger if deported.
The relevant factors are summarized below.

(1) He is an Iranian Kurd.

Do Kurds receive special attention from the security forces if
they are deported back to Iran? If so, are there any supporting
documents?   

(2) He was an active member of a Komela group while in Iran. The
Iranian authorities presumably now know that he was active in
Komela, since one of his group was arrested and interrogated by
security forces. Realizing that he would soon be named under
torture, he escaped from Iran and became a refugee. 

What is the attitude of the security forces toward Komela? Is
Komela banned? Have any Komela members been imprisoned, tortured,
or executed merely for being members or suspected members? Are
there any supporting documents that give names and dates?  

(3) He escaped from Iran without obtaining official permission.

What happens to those who leave Iran without permission, and are
then deported back? What about Kurds or Bahai who are returned
from Turkey? Are there supporting documents?

(4) He was accepted as a UN-certified refugee (refugee under the
"Convention").

We have asked the UNHCR for a letter stating that he was accepted
as a "refugee under the Convention" for valid reasons, and that
those reasons are still valid. 

What is the attitude of the Iranian authorities toward those who
seek and obtain status as a "refugee under the Convention"? Are
they considered to be guilty of insulting or bringing disrespect
upon Iran or its rulers? If so, what is the usual punishment for
such a crime? Are there any supporting documents? 

(5) He was accepted by Canada as a permanent resident. While in
Canada, he was convicted on a drug charge, imprisoned, granted
early parole as a person judged unlikely to re-offend, and then
ordered deported back to Iran.

What happens to those who have been convicted and punished for a
drug-related crime committed outside of Iran, if they are
deported back to Iran? Are they punished again? Any
documentation?
 
(6) It appears that Canada may have informed Iran about the
refugee at this point, since he was asked to sign a document
prepared by Citizenship and Immigration Canada which stated that
he had been charged with murder. No such charge had been made in
Canada, and to the best of his knowledge no such charge had been
made in Iran before Citizenship and Immigration Canada
decided to deport him.

What is likely to happen to a person who has been charged with
murder by Iranian authorities when those authorities know that
the charge is false? Is such a charge evidence that the Iranian
authorities plan to deal harshly with him? Are there documents
which show that Iranian authorities often bring false charges
against people whom they want to imprison or execute for
other reasons?

(7) The Iranian authorities will be notified by Canada when he is
deported. They will be told the date, the time of arrival, and
the flight number. They will know that he is being deported as "a
danger to the public in Canada", and they may be told that he was
convicted on a drug charge. He probably will be sedated during
the flight, to minimize the possibility of escape or suicide. 

     If all of the above factors are considered as a whole, what
is the probability that this refugee will be (a) imprisoned? (b)
tortured? (c) executed? 

     Unfortunately, we need the letters and documents very
quickly, within one week if possible, since that is the deadline
imposed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The refugee's
lawyer will try to obtain an extension of time, but it is not
certain that this will be allowed. Documents that are available
on the Internet are acceptable.  
     Letters should be addressed to Citizenship and Immigration
Canada, but sent to the refugee's lawyer. Anything that is sent
directly to Citizenship and Immigration Canada is likely to be
lost in the system, especially since we have not provided the
refugee's name.

The lawyer is:
Lorne Waldman (Marie-Claude Rigaud)
281 Eglinton Avenue E.
Toronto, Ontario M4P 1L3
CANADA
telephone: (416) 482-6501
fax: (416) 489-9618
e-mail: Lawald at web.apc.org

========================================================

     The present situation is summarized as follows. In January
1996, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration stated that she
was of the opinion that the refugee was "a danger to the public
in Canada", and ordered him deported. A very good immigration
lawyer volunteered his services without fee, obtained an
injunction to postpone the deportation, obtained leave to
challenge Citizenship and Immigration in Federal Court, and won
his case. The judge said that the process used by Citizenship and
Immigration was so flawed that he had to disallow their
deportation order. The refugee was then released on bail.
However, as is their custom when they lose a case,
Citizenship and Immigration started the whole process again, and
last week informed the refugee that they were going to hold
another inquiry as to whether he was "a danger to the public in
Canada". They told him that he had the right to submit any
documents that he considered relevant (deadline for
submission two weeks). This does not mean that they will consider
those documents relevant, or even consider them at all. However,
this is the best chance that he has. 
     The process used by Canada for these deportation orders
involves serious violations of human rights which have been
condemned by the Canadian Bar Association, the United Nations,
Amnesty International, and numerous Canadian human rights
organizations. However, the process continues to be
used routinely.
     Step (1) - The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
declares that she is of the opinion that the refugee in question
is "a danger to the public in Canada". Her opinion can not be
appealed, since it is merely an opinion and not a formal ruling
by a judge or tribunal. The immunity of her opinion to appeal has
been confirmed by a recent ruling of the Federal Court of Appeal.
Step (2) - An employee of Citizenship and Immigration states that
the refugee will not be in serious danger if deported back to his
or her country of origin. The data upon which this statement is
based and the reasoning used by the employee to arrive at this
conclusion is not revealed to the refugee or his lawyer. Legal
challenges to this policy of secrecy have not been successful. 
     Analysis of cases in which refugees have been ordered
deported indicates that neither Step (1) nor Step (2) can be
taken very seriously. Refugees have been ordered deported for
very minor crimes - for example, "mischief", or for drug offences
that led to a sentence of one day in jail and a suspended
sentence of one year. Also, refugees who have already been
sentenced to death in Iran have been ordered deported. You can
see that we have a serious human rights problem in Canada. Any
help or advice that you can give will be deeply appreciated. 

======================================================