[antiwar-van] Haleh Sahba Deported: Dec 7

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

HALEH SAHBA DEPORTED

December 7, 2004

Approximately 40-50 family members and supporters from the Iranian
Federation of Refugees and No One is Illegal gathered at Immigration
Canada early this morning in a last minute attempt to demand a stay of
deportation of Haleh Sahba from enforcement officials directly.

Haleh Sahba is a refugee claimant in Vancouver whose case, like many other
refugee claimants in Canada, has been denied despite strong evidence that 
as a political activist for womens rights and a student activist, upon her
return to Iran she will face detention, persecution from an abusive
ex-husband, and possible imprisonment.

Security downstairs initially refused the delegation, particularly Haleh
and NOII members, to proceed upstairs until Haleh's family and the media
persistently challenged the reason that a public office was being made
inaccessible. Security, embarrased and cornered, conceded and apologized.
While upstairs, a meeting was continously refused, stating that without an
appointment, Haleh would not be able to meet anyone, even for five
minutes, and was in fact reprimanded for not proceeding to the airport.

In an interview with CTV later in the day, an immigration spokesperson
stated that all files are judged carefully, particularly the Pre-removal
risk assessemnt (PRRA) where conditions in countries are carefully
assessed. Latest statistics, however, reveal that the PRRA has a refusal
rate of over 95% due to the inherently forward-looking a

According to CIC's own statistics, over 50,000 people have been removed
from Canada in the past five years. These attacks against immigrant and
refugee communities are escalating with repressive and racist immigration
policies. No One is Illegal, along with other immigrant and refugee
groups, will continue to build a movement for justice for our communities.

Stop the deportations now!

Media:
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/news/story.html?id=baca5d67-8e00-43bb-a884-4fa021f28508