a judge has ruled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is a “terrorist entity” under Canadian law, which fueled debate over how to deal with the branch of Tehran’s armed forces.
The Ontario Superior Court found that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was “a listed entity” because one of its branches, Quds Forcehad already been designated as such by Canada.
The ruling was given in a case that considered whether the estate of a late Canadian lawyer was required to pay nearly $1 million to an Iranian aviation company that allegedly operated for the IRGC. There was a front.
The judge dismissed the case because Babak Zanjani, the owner of the Iranian company, was an alleged IRGC financier. The court said that repaying the loan would have been a violation Canadian Anti-Terrorism Law,
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But the judge ruled that the IRGC not only met the definition of a terrorist group, but was also a “listed entity by association” because of its ties to the Qods Force.
being a listed terrorist entity serious consequences, Contributing to any activity of a listed group is illegal, and its property can be seized and confiscated.
The Liberal government has long sought to keep the IRGC afloat Canadian terrorist listEspecially after Iranian militia shot down a passenger plane carrying 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
More recently, the IRGC has allegedly helped Russia conduct drone attacks in Ukraine and participated in the crackdown on human rights protesters in Iran.
However, only the Qods Force branch of the IRGC is listed. The Quds Force trains, bankrolls and arms terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, which celebrated the bombing of a Jerusalem bus stop last week. killed a canadian teenager,
Public Safety Canada has not yet responded to requests for comment on the court’s decision.
Israel and the Center for Jewish Affairs urged the government to “accept the court’s decision”. The organization is among those who have urged Ottawa to take further action against the IRGC.
“It is our long-standing position that the Canadian government needs to fully list the IRGC as a terrorist entity,” said CIJA President and CEO Simeon Koffler Fogel.
But national security law expert Prof. Michael Nesbitt said that the decision appears repeat an error An earlier Ontario court decision failed to consider that the IRGC is part of Iran’s military.
Nesbitt, a law professor at the University of Calgary, said terrorist activity involves the actions of a state military force performing its official duties. “In this case, the IRGC is not listed, so a court must find the existence of a terrorist group.”
“In doing so, they are bound to consider mandatory exceptions, including whether the group is a military force of a State acting in the exercise of its official duties. Without such analysis, it is impossible to say whether a group is ‘terrorist’ or not.”
A 2018 House of Commons motion sought to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has yet to follow through.
Instead, in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini government by Iran’s ethics police in September Banned over 10,000 IRGC members from entering Canada.
“The IRGC leadership are terrorists. IRGC is a terrorist organization. Today, Canada is formally recognizing this and acting accordingly,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland at the time.
But the judge’s decision could raise new questions about the listing of the IRGC.
“I agree with the applicants that the IRGC cannot be viewed as anything other than a terrorist organization,” Madam Justice Cori Gilmore wrote under his rule. “I also agree with the applicants that if one argues that the Quds Force is the only listed entity, then the IRGC becomes a listed entity by association.”
“The judge is absolutely correct in his findings regarding the IRGC’s terrorist credentials,” said Danny Essen, a spokesman for the Canadian Coalition Against Terror.
The coalition, which represents Canadian victims of terrorism, is asking the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, arguing that the Quds Force were not separate organizations.
“Canada has fully listed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” Eisen said. “The IRGC is no different in this regard. This entity is committed to establishing Iran as a regional and global power through subversion and terrorism in its entirety.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and IRGC General Hossein Salami at the graduation ceremony of cadets, Tehran, Iran on October 13, 2019. Photo by Salmapix/ABACAPRESS.COM.
The Ontario judge’s decision came after a court in the United Arab Emirates ruled that a Dubai law firm owed money to Sorinet, an Iranian company owned by Zanjani.
The law firm was partially owned by the late Canadian Donald Harry Bunker. The executors of his will living in Ontario and Quebec were asked to pay Sorinet US$618,000, but argued that they could not because Zanjani “used Sorinet to raise funds for the IRGC”. “
Furthermore, he argued, Zanjani had been arrested for embezzlement, and it was possible that the money he paid to resolve the debt would end up in the hands of the IRGC, in violation of Canada’s terrorism financing laws.
He argued that following the Dubai court’s order would mean giving money to the terrorist group. He also argued that the IRGC was a listed entity in Canada because of its ties to the Quds Force.
In an October 28 ruling, the judge agreed, citing the Zarei case, in which an Ontario court found that the IRGC’s missile attack on Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 was an act of terrorism.
The judge said that a “mere risk” of the money being used for terrorism was sufficient. “It is the historical connection between Zanjani/Sorinet and his fundraising activities for the IRGC that is significant.”
stewart.bell@globalnews.ca
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