UN Anti-Torture Committee Urges Canada Not to Deport Dadar

Geneva — A United Nations committee is urging Canada not to deport an Iranian man back to his homeland, where he could face torture, according to a document obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

The UN Committee against Torture says Canada’s planned deportation of Mostafa Dadar would violate international law because “substantial grounds exist for believing that the complainant may risk being subjected to torture if returned to Iran,” the document states.

Mr. Dadar, 55, claims to have been tortured by Iranian authorities after the 1979 Islamic Revolution because he was “an outspoken opponent of Ayatollah Khomeini and strongly loyal to the shah,” the committee said.

Granted asylum by Canada in 1988, Mr. Dadar was convicted eight years later for aggravated assault. Canadian authorities decided in 2002 that Mr. Dadar should be deported back to Iran after the completion of his eight-year prison sentence because it was believed he posed a danger to the public.

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“There is no doubt that the complainant would be subjected to questioning if returned to Iran, as are all persons returned through deportation,” it said. “In the committees view, the possibility of being questioned upon return increases the risk that the complainant might face.”

The committee said Canada should therefore refrain from deporting Mr. Dadar and said that his forced return to Iran would breach Canada’s obligations under international law. It gave Ottawa 90 days to respond to its findings.

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