Evidence of meeting #24 for Subcommittee on International Human Rights in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was iran.
A video is available from Parliament.
Shahram Golestaneh
Actually the ethnic minorities in Iran, especially in the border provinces, like the Kurds, the Baluchis and the Arabs, I would say, in Khuzestan province all suffer double discrimination, and that's why these provinces are among the poorest provinces in the country and have not seen any improvement in the past 42 years.
Some of these people, just to make ends meet, basically have to do extremely difficult jobs of portering fuel across the border just to get their basic necessities covered. They are called kolbars or soukhtbars, which means they are the porters of goods or fuel, like the Baluchis and the Kurds. Most often they are targeted. They are killed by the IRGC and the border guards, knowing that they are the poor people and have no other means to defend themselves. That's why we have major uprisings in Baluchistan and in Kurdish cities against the whole situation, and that's why the regime is so afraid.
You referred to the Baha’is' case. As we speak.... Yesterday, I read another news article that another Baha’i motorcycle champion was sentenced to eight years in prison. This is typical. They don't have any rights to higher education, and their plight has been heard many times in this subcommittee and many other forums. All the religious minorities and all the ethnic minorities, unfortunately, suffer twice, once because they live in Iran—because every Iranian citizen suffers—and second because they are in a minority group.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you very much.
Iran claims that women have equal rights, and it was elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
I'd like to hear what Ms. Boorchi has to say about this, please.
Ex-Political Prisoner, Iran Democratic Association
Can you please say it in English one more time?
Bloc
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I'll repeat my question, and you'll give me my time back, obviously, thank you.
Ex-Political Prisoner, Iran Democratic Association
Thank you. I'm sorry about that.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
No, it's no trouble; it's normal. I'm very bad when it comes to technology.
What I was saying is that Iran claims that women have the same rights as men. Now, Iran was elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
I'd like to know what you think about this situation.
Ex-Political Prisoner, Iran Democratic Association
I am so saddened to hear that Iran has been elected to a chair on the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women. Let me tell you about women's rights in Iran. First of all, we are second-class citizens in Iran. We don't allow a woman to go out of the home or out of the country without her husband's approval. As a women, if you are an adulterer, you are stoned to death, while men are exempt because they can have multiple wives. You cannot divorce, even if your husband is beating you up and you have a miserable life. The children you give birth to go to your husband, and if your husband passes away, you, as the mother, cannot have your kids, but your husband's family can take care of your kids.
You are asking me how the situation is in Iran. I am so sad.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you very much, Ms. Boorchi.
Mr. Golestaneh, in your testimony, you spoke about the Iranian wrestling champion who was sentenced to death and executed.
I'd like to know what the situation of political prisoners is right now, considering what was done to the Iranian wrestling champion. Everyone looked at this with disbelief.
Do you know the status of his family? What are people saying there, in Iran, and what is the situation of political prisoners right now?
Shahram Golestaneh
Thank you.
About Mr. Navid Afkari, who was a wrestling champion, the whole world rallied to save him, actually, including Canada and many other places, and unfortunately it fell on deaf ears in the Iranian regime, because he had become a symbol of resistance and also was participating in the uprising in 2018. Unfortunately, his two brothers were also arrested and, as said earlier, they are still in jail.
Now, the rest of his family, including his very brave sister, Mrs. Elham Afkari, goes public. Despite being intimidated, arrested, harassed and all the types of physical and emotional trouble that she has to go through, she has gone public. One of the slogans that she made just a couple of days ago was, “My vote is to overthrow this regime, for they have killed my brother and my two other brothers are suffering.”
Indeed, in a response that I received personally from the foreign affairs minister a while ago, after the execution of Mr. Afkari, he said that Canada is pursuing the case of the two imprisoned brothers.
Liberal
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank all our witnesses for joining us today. I'm horrified by some of the testimony you're sharing with us, and very saddened that you had to come and share it with us.
I'd like to start with the downing of flight 752. Of course, I've spoken to some of you already about this, but many of you will know that Edmonton Strathcona and Edmonton as a community was disproportionately impacted by that terrible tragedy. We've seen the Government of Canada have a response and we've seen what the Iranian government has failed to do.
One of the questions I have is about supporting the families. What are the asks that the families have? What can we do right now to support families? In particular, I think of families I have spoken to who have deep worries about the safety and health of their family members who may still remain in Iran.
Could you comment on that, perhaps?
Shahram Golestaneh
I believe that what we need to do is basically to listen to the voices of the families. The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims has had many meetings and sent many requests to the Canadian government and elsewhere.
Indeed, I would also stress on this one that many of the family members of the victims staged rallies in Iran when the Ukrainians and, at the time, people from Canada, from the Transportation Safety Board, went to Iran to investigate. They rallied in front of their delegation residence, saying, “We don't have any hope from the Iranian government, but we ask Ukraine and Canada to follow up our loved ones' case in the international courts.” I guess we have to hear that.
On your specific question of what Canada can do?—and of course there are many things Canada cannot do—we have offered, I believe in a symbolic way at least, to some of the families to come and take up residency in Canada. I believe that's a good gesture. It would not resolve all of the problems for all of the families, unfortunately.
NDP
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Of course.
Mr. Golestaneh, I know that you know, but I brought forward a unanimous consent motion into the House of Commons, asking the Government of Canada to condemn any threats that were being made to people in Canada. You spoke about that a bit. Would you like to provide an update or any additional information about that?
Shahram Golestaneh
Yes. Many of those audiotapes were actually made public. CBC published one. I believe that was an exclusive use, so I cannot use it, but it is on the CBC's website: One of the family members was phoned from Iran and basically threatened not to take any action.
On another occasion, it was Iran's foreign minister's audiotape that was revealed: Mr. Zarif, who many people in the west think is a reformer. He said this case will not go anywhere because they knew it; they knew what they wanted to do, and I'm afraid that this will not go anywhere. He tried to whitewash the whole regime
Unfortunately, this is not the only case. His department was also implicated in terrorist acts in other countries, including in Belgium. An Iranian diplomat, for the first time ever after World War II, was condemned and convicted on terrorism charges. He was convicted of having placed a bomb at a gathering of hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Paris. He was given the maximum sentence of 20 years, with no chance of parole or appeal.
I know from my own city, Ottawa, a radio host who has done this. She was threatened, actually by a gun to the head of her brother from Iran, calling on her to stop her work or to return back to Iran, otherwise her brother would be in danger.
These are the types of things we see quite often.
NDP
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Thank you.
Ms. Boorchi or Mr. Saghah, is there anything else you'd like to add?
Ex-Political Prisoner, Iran Democratic Association
I would like to bring to your attention that we, as Iranians, want the world listening to the people. We don't want to postpone by having an appeasement policy, saying, “Let's talk now. Let's see how it goes.” For years, all the countries have talked to these people, and it gets worse and worse. It's only firm and decisive action that can stop this. Condemning is good, but because they are very shameless people, they do not listen. We have to take action.
NDP
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Thank you.
A stronger response, I think, is what you're requesting from us.
Electrical Contractor, Association of Iranian Ex Political Prisoners in Canada
I just want to add that the only policy that works is taking a firm policy, because up to now we have been using other policies, and they have been expanding their power in the region—not only within Iran, but also in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen; all people around and near Iran are suffering the brutality of this regime.
I believe there is a solution; there is a way. I believe the Canadian government can do a lot by taking it—
