Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on May 14th, 2019

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

—in jail, yes.

[Shaparak Shajarizadeh]

—jail, and the other ones just keep silent, because they're going to end up in jail. We have other Canadian citizens. Saeed Malekpour is in jail. What can you do for him? He's a Canadian resident, and he is in jail.

Niloufar Bayani is in jail. They haven't even given her an accusation or a sentence. She's has been detained in IRGC prison for more than a year, and she's not even facing a real accusation. The security—I don't know how to say it—the security department said, “You're not guilty of being a spy”, but IRGC keeps them in detention. What can we do for those citizens?

I guess we have to be more severe towards human rights, the architects of human rights.

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Thank you.

I have a follow-up question for you. I want to echo something that my colleague MP Sweet said. It was that we've heard about lobbies and proxies of the Iranian regime in Canada threatening human rights defenders, threatening people who are coming to committees like this or other places to share their stories. Talk to us about that. Just tell us briefly, if you can, about the types of threats the Iranian regime is able to place on Canadian shores here.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anita Vandenbeld]

In 30 seconds.

[Shaparak Shajarizadeh]

The day I had a press conference here, they spread a lie about me being here. After that, they went to my house. They said I was asking for sanction for the people of Iran, and that's why the officers went to my house. The Iranian Canadian consul spread lies about my action. This is what I witnessed myself. They have been doing it for a long time.

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anita Vandenbeld]

Thank you.

The final questions go to you, Ms. Hardcastle. You have seven minutes.

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

It's always very difficult during Iran Accountability Week. We hear the emotion, we get frustrated and we have the emotion, but we do know.... I'm a member of Parliament who's been here for one term. I've been like you; I've been someone who's been following this issue, as a Canadian, following what I think the mistakes are in our foreign policy and how we should be doing something. I do understand how even words are construed; I know. This is a long game, as we sometimes call it. There does have to be patience in terms of diplomacy.

You inspire us with your testimony. I've been to other groups of women who do the White Wednesdays, and that courage inspires me. I just want to say thank you for that kind of inspiration and energy, which you give all of us for all of our work in international human rights. We've had other people come before this committee, even General Roméo Dallaire, with two fists on the desk—do something about the Rohingya; do something—because he knows; he's lived it. It gets at our frustration and our emotions, but with that, we have to take this logic and say, “What is the government's role here? How do we use Canada's soft power?” This committee has to discuss that.

Mr. Hashemi, in the time I have left, I'm wondering if you can talk to us a little bit about that kind of frustration in how we're trying to help advance this capacity of Iran as brothers and sisters in the global world, and what Canada's role is. You recently experienced a vicious smear that went against another person I had asked to testify. There are some very convoluted issues when we talk about threats and when we talk about lobbies and proxies. Would you talk a little bit about what is happening to you? Maybe discuss the MEK and their mouthpiece organization in Canada and how we should be cognizant of these things as we are taking our government role further.

You can use the rest of my time. My preamble probably took us to three minutes. You can take three minutes.

[Nader Hashemi]

I find it very difficult to try to use the time that I've been allotted to address the MEK in the context of a discussion on human rights. They are irrelevant to the contemporary struggle for human rights and democracy in Iran. They are basically an extremist cult backed by a lot of Saudi and Emirati money, and by a lot of powerful forces in Washington, D.C., with connections to John Bolton. Let's not get sidetracked by what they are trying to do in terms of manipulating this debate.

Getting back to what you said in your statement, how do we channel the legitimate frustration, the anger and the concern that many Canadians have with respect to the human rights crisis into concrete action? That's the challenge here.

Let me tell you a story that I think applies perfectly to this debate. Yesterday, here in the city of Denver, the centre that I direct at the University of Denver, the Center for Middle East Studies, hosted a former Iranian Canadian political prisoner. You may have heard of her before. Her name is Homa Hoodfar, and she teaches at Concordia University. In 2016 she was on a visit to Iran, and she was arrested by the intelligence services, the IRGC.

She came out of prison, and she told me exactly what happened that led to her freedom. The Prime Minister of Canada repeatedly spoke out and addressed the topic. Canadian civil society was mobilized, and organized and protested in support of her defence. The Canadian Muslim community rallied, not just in Canada but around the world, kept raising her name and put the spotlight on Canada.

I think that if you just study...and if you actually speak to Homa Hoodfar, who is in Montreal—just down the road from where you guys are, relatively speaking—she can tell you what was happening in Evin prison and how she managed to get out of Evin prison. It was because Canada took a very principled, a very focused position on identifying her case and demanding that Iran release her.

I think there is a lot more that we could be doing, that we should be doing. I think we shouldn't get distracted by these very powerful lobby groups that have no interest in human rights. They have their own narrow agenda. We have to listen to human rights defenders.

I think at this very difficult moment in international relations when democracies are declining and authoritarian populism is on the rise, the world is looking for Canadian leadership on this issue, not just with respect to human rights in Iran but everywhere. Canada does have a lot of soft power.

What deeply disappoints me as a Canadian living in the United States is that I see a lot of Canadian politicians very timid to exercise that power, very reluctant to take risks and to provide the type of global leadership that I think human rights activists and defenders around the world would really support.

I'd like to see more of that happening and coming out from Canada, particularly given this very dark and very critical moment that the world is passing through. Canada has a lot to offer, and it's really disappointing to me as a Canadian to see that potential that Canada has not being realized.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anita Vandenbeld]

Witnesses, I'd like to thank you both very much, especially for your courage, Ms. Shajarizadeh, and thank you very much, Mr. Hashemi.

As you know, we will be having another hearing on this on Thursday at one o'clock.

With that, we are going to be going in camera momentarily for some committee business, so I'll ask that we suspend for a moment and that those who are not supposed to be here leave the room.

[Proceedings continue in camera]