Ahani v Canada (1051/2002)
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No Substantial Judicial
Treatment |
Court
UN Human Rights Committee
Judgment Date
29 March 2004
Where Reported
[2004] 3 WLUK 779
(2004) 11 I.H.R.R. 941
(2004) 39 E.H.R.R. SE12
Subject
Human rights
Other related subjects
Immigration
Keywords
Deportation; Refugees; Terrorism;
Torture
Judge
Case Digest
Abstract
A, an Iranian national, claimed that his
return to Iran had violated
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 Art.2, Art.6, Art.7, Art.9, Art.13 and Art.14.
A had sought refugee status in Canada, claiming that he
had been forced to join the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s assassination branch. In 1992 the
Canadian authorities found that he was
a Convention refugee, but in 1993 he
was detained under the Immigration Act
(Canada) s.40, on the ground that
his training and background showed
that he was
likely to engage in terrorism.
A government minister refused A’s request
to be deported to a third state, even though A asserted that he was
at risk of torture if he returned to Iran. A’s appeals and a judicial review failed and he was deported
to Iran in 2002, despite the HRC’s
request for measures for interim protection under the Human Rights Committee
Rules of Procedure r.86.
Held, upholding the complaint in
part, that A’s rights under Art. 9(4), and
Art.13, in conjunction with
Art.7, had been violated.
In addition, Canada had also
breached r.86 by deporting
A before the HRC could address his allegations.
Given the seriousness of
the risk of torture, Canada’s
action in deporting A in spite of the request for interim protection undermined the protection of Covenant rights.
A’s rights under Art.9(4) had been violated by a nine and a half month delay
in judicial review proceedings. Further, Art.13, in conjunction with Art.7, had been violated by the ministerial deportation decision because A had been denied the procedural protections necessary
in the face of torture allegations and such a denial could
not be justified on
national security grounds, Suresh v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration) 2002 SCC 1, [2002] 1 S.C.R. 3 applied.