[antiwar-van] DEMO & UPDATE ON DEPORTATION OF IRANIAN WOMAN

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

URGENT!! DEMO TO PROTEST DEPORTATION OF IRANIAN WOMEN
STOP THE DEPORTATIONS NOW!!

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DEMO @ CITZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA (CIC)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7th AT 8:30 AM
300 W. GEORGIA

** After the demo there will be a caravan to the airport
(seats available)**

VANCOUVER AIRPORT @ INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7th AT 9:30 AM

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UPDATE ON HALEH SAHBA

December 6, 2004

Today, December 6th, a day Canada commemorates as a day of action and
remembrance on violence against women, Immigration Canada has decided to
deport a woman back to a country notorious for its dismal human rights
record and on-going persecution of women.

Haleh Sahba is a refugee claimant in Vancouver whose case, like many other
refugee claimants in Canada, has been denied despite strong evidence that
if she returns to Iran she will face detention, persecution from an
abusive ex-husband, and possible imprisonment. Last week, after three
years of working and living in Canada with her immediate and extended
family, she was told she is to be deported on Tuesday, December 7th at
10:30 am.

Today at a hearing at the Federal Court, Immigration Canada rejected her
last chance to stay in Canada. Haleh Sahba was forced to come to Canada
with a fake passport and if she is returned she will certainly be
detained. Leaving Iran with false documents is a crime punishable by up to
five years imprisonment. She is likely to be imprisoned longer due to her
previous political involvement in Iran and her rejected refugee status in
Canada. Immigration Canada claimed that because they would not be
escorting Haleh to Iran, that she could just lie to the Iranian
authorities about where she has been for the past three years.

After the hearing, Haleh’s family and supporters, the Federation of
Iranian Refugees, No One Is Illegal, the Anti-Poverty Committee, the
Downtown Eastside Resident’s Association, the Bus Riders Union, Stop War
joined the War Resisters for a rally outside of Citizenship and
Immigration Canada (CIC) to protest Haleh’s deportation. Women in Haleh’s
family spoke strongly about the links between the women killed in Montreal
fourteen years ago and the oppression women face today in Iran.

Canada is well aware of the record of deteriorating human rights in Iran
due to the Canadian government