Relatives of those killed when Iran’s military shot down Flight PS752 in January 2020 say Canada has become a safe haven for regime officials.
“Canada has become a safe haven for criminals from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Hamed Esmailion testified Thursday afternoon before the House Judiciary Committee.
Esmaeilion leads a group representing grieving families, many of whom know of many people who worked for the regime or are connected to senior officials moving freely in Canada.
“This is a great concern for the Iranian people,” he said.
Amid a brutal crackdown on women’s rights and human rights protesters in Iran, the federal Liberals are facing mounting pressure to designate part of Iran’s military as a terrorist group.
It coincided with the 1,000-day anniversary of the downing of Flight PS752 near Tehran, which killed 176 people, most of whom were traveling through Ukraine to Canada.
No one has been held accountable.
Esmailion attributed this to a naive bureaucracy that sees Iran as a normal country.
“It’s mainly the legal teams or counsel; they still believe in negotiations with Iran because they don’t see Iran or the Iranian regime as a mafia group,” he said.
“If you change your attitude that you are not negotiating with Switzerland or a democratic country, then that will solve the problem.
He said he told officials the Canadians would never play a hockey game with North Korea, yet Canada’s men’s national soccer team was scheduled to play Iran back in June before Canada Soccer was canceled amid of political reaction.
Esmailion said he was certain that people linked to Tehran were responsible for slashing his tires and making phone calls he considered threatening.
The RCMP previously said it was “aware of reports of victims being subjected to threats, harassment and intimidation.”
And while the Liberals said they updated their sanctions list on Monday based on the impact from Esmaeilion’s group, he said there were many more officials the relatives suggested months ago.
“I am shocked that I do not see (Supreme Leader) Ali Khamenei on the list,” he said, adding that President Ebrahim Raisi and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif should be included on the list.
He also called out Iran’s delegate to the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, saying Farhad Parvaresh should be expelled from Canada.
This week, a crowd of Iranian Canadians marched on Parliament Hill, demanding that Ottawa consider the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group.
Experts said such a change would be difficult to enforce, given that Iran has drafted millions into non-combat roles in the force. Terrorist list forces Ottawa to freeze assets held in Canada and ban entry into the country.
Esmaeilion said this is a serious concern and there could be more than 15,000 people already living in Canada in this situation. But he said their military documents clearly indicated whether they had a senior rank and whether they joined the IRGC by choice.
“We can free these people. We’ve talked to several lawyers and it’s a simple decision to list the IRGC.”
He also reiterated calls for those responsible for the downing of the plane that killed his wife and daughter to be held accountable. Esmaeilion’s group wants Canada to refer the case to ICAO and the International Criminal Court.
“So far, after 1,000 days, we have no road map; we don’t have a time frame,” he said.
In an interview Wednesday, Transport Minister Omar Algabra said Canada wants to see justice for the victims of Flight PS752, but must exhaust all avenues with Iran before an international court takes over the case.
“The process is painful, it’s long, it’s cumbersome, it’s complicated,” he said.
“These international bodies are flawed, they’re imperfect, but they’re our best way to hold Iran accountable.
Algabra said Canada is helping push reforms that aim to prevent another disaster, such as the Safe Skies Initiative. The idea is for a global body to assess when conflict makes civilian flights unsafe and advise companies and countries not to take off.
The flight shot down by Iran took off hours ago in a military operation in response to the US killing of top Iranian military official Qassem Soleimani.
“PS752 should not have flown when there was a conflict nearby,” Algabra said.
– With files from Caitlin Yardley in Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on October 7, 2022.
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