Iranian regime official wants press banned from Canadian deportation hearing
Global News
The IRB is holding Seyed Salman Samani's case in public but his lawyer said he was appealing that decision to the Federal Court.
Before arriving in Canada, Seyed Salman Samani was a frontman for Iran’s government.
He can be seen in photos standing in front of a row of microphones, speaking for the interior ministry.
But now that he is in Canada, he wants privacy.
Samani, Iran’s former deputy minister of interior, appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board for the first time on Wednesday.
The IRB is holding hearings that could result in his deportation for being a senior member of Iran’s repressive regime.
The Refugee Board ruled on Dec. 18 that the case would be heard in public, but Samani’s lawyer said he was appealing that decision.
In a letter to the IRB on Saturday, Robert Israel Blanshay asked the Board to postpone Samani’s case while he appealed to the Federal Court.
“His concerns over his privacy, name, particular circumstances, etc…are entirely reasonable, rational and plausible,” the lawyer wrote.