As demonstrations spread across the country in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, Canada has permanently barred half of the IRGC’s membership from ever entering the country.
Amini passed away last month while being held by Iran’s’morality police’ for allegedly donning her headscarf too loosely.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Friday, “We will pursue a listing of the Iranian government, including the IRGC leadership, under the most potent section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”
“The decision to designate a regime is final. This implies that, for example, more than 10,000 members of the IRGC leadership will always be prohibited from entering Canada.
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According to Trudeau, this IRPA designation has only ever been applied under “the most extreme circumstances,” such as when a country has perpetrated genocide or war crimes. According to Trudeau, the top 50% of the IRGC leadership, or roughly 10,000 officers and senior members of the organisation, will be subject to the designation.
Along with this designation, Trudeau stated that Canada intends to “massively expand” specific sanctions against those who are “particularly accountable for Iran’s atrocious behaviour.”
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In order to ensure Canada can implement these sanctions, Trudeau added, the government is investing $76 million to “strengthen Canada’s overall capacity to implement sanctions. ”
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who joined Trudeau during the Friday announcement, slammed Iran as a “state sponsor of terror. ”
“It is oppressive, theocratic and misogynist. The IRGC leadership are terrorists, the IRGC is a terrorist organization,” she said.
According to Trudeau, the government is spending $76 million to “strengthen Canada’s overall capacity to enforce sanctions” to ensure that the country can carry out these measures.
During the announcement on Friday, Trudeau was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who denounced Iran as a “state sponsor of terror.”
Theocratic, tyrannical, and misogynistic. The IRGC is a terrorist organisation, and its leadership is a terrorist organisation, she claimed.
Numerous Conservative MPs have urged for the Liberal government to name the IRGC as a terrorist organisation; but, Trudeau stopped short of making that announcement on Friday. The most recent announcement builds significantly on that announcement.
In response to questions about why the government decided against designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, Trudeau stated that the government had “very carefully” considered “all the potential options” and was not “taking any more tools off the table.”
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But in practise, Trudeau added, “designating the Iranian regime under these provisions—provisions that have only been utilised in circumstances like Bosnia and Rwanda—is the strongest means we have to go after states and state entities.
“The best weapon to pursue governments or state entities is not the Canadian Criminal Code. But we’ll keep looking at all the resources available to us. However, what we are announcing today goes well beyond what the public has been requesting.
Terrorist organisation designations are often only made public after a rigorous process, which is carried out by intelligence agencies rather than the government.
Intelligence agencies investigate all available material to determine whether a particular group is involved in or supporting terrorist action if it fits the requirements to be taken into consideration.
There are immediate and severe implications whenever a group is put on the terror list.
Banks promptly de-risk those organisations, which has a number of ramifications for its members, including having their bank accounts cancelled and preventing them from ever using these financial institutions again. Limitations on people’s rights result from designation as a terrorist group.
The former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Richard Fadden, discussed the procedure in an interview with Global News in January of last year. “You know, they lose the right to own property, to try to shift financial assets,” he added.
Amini’s passing has nonetheless brought Iran international condemnation and fueled ongoing anti-government demonstrations in the country.
Iran has put a stop to the unrest.
Untold numbers of protesters have been arrested, along with artists who have shown support for the demonstrations. At least 1,500 arrests are reported by local authorities. — with information from Global News’ Aaron D’Andrea; human rights organisations estimate that 130 people have perished during the protests.
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