Robab Farahi-Mahdavieh

Robab Farahi-Mahdavieh
Nationality Iranian
Allegiance People's Mujahedin of Iran
Conviction(s) Illegal entry
Details
Country Canada
State(s) Ontario
Location(s) Ottawa
Target(s) Embassy of Iran in Ottawa
Date apprehended
 1992

Robab Farahi-Mahdavieh (Persian: رباب فرحی مهدویه‎) is a member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) who was arrested by Canada in 1992, and in 1993 she was deported from Canada back to the United Kingdom on grounds of national security. She was arrested under one of only 28 security certificates ever issued in Canada.[1]

Activities

Canada

Believed to be the leader of the MEK's North American operations,[2] Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) identified her as the their "chief fundraiser and recruiter" in Canada[3] and a "leading female member".[1] She was alleged to have organised the flash mob that attacked the Embassy of Iran in Ottawa, following Iranian airstrikes against MEK camps.[4][2][5] Nineteen protestors pleaded guilty to various charges of break and enter and possession of stolen goods.[6]

Her lawyer, Phil Rankin, told press that "It’s a gross exaggeration to call this woman a terrorist. All she did was mastermind a demonstration that got out of hand".[7] Pierre Denault, designated judge at the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Farahi-Mahdavieh's testimony lacked credibility and "It is enough that Mahdavieh admitted to being an active member of the MEK, and there is little doubt the group was involved in this specific attack".[8] She was deported on 26 March 1993.[8] Mahnaz Samadi who filled her role leading the civilian wing of the MEK, was later deported from Canada in 2000 for being linked to the People's Mujahedin of Iran.[5][9]

The case is notable among security certificate cases in Canada for how "civil or criminal rules of evidence are not applicable", and the judge decided to consider any evidence deemed reliable.[10]

United States

According to a publication documenting the case at the time, one of the first contributions that the MEK made to Robert Torricelli came through Robab Maahdavieh, who was identified by the Canadian intelligence service as head of the organization's fundraising. Mahdavieh was deported to the United States in 1993.[11] She listed her occupation as "Physician."[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Bell, Stewart (July 19, 2004), "Guerrillas claim links to Canada", The National Post
  2. 1 2 "Muslim Council to contest constitutionality of process", Montreal Gazette, 16 July 2003
  3. 1 2 Timmerman, Kenneth R. (January 1998), "Torricelli's Terrorist List Friends", The American Spectator, 31 (1), p. 26
  4. ↑ Canada Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook, 1, International Business Publications, 2015, p. 249, ISBN 9780739716151
  5. 1 2 Martin, Gus (2004), The New Era of Terrorism: Selected Readings, SAGE, p. 94, ISBN 9780761988731
  6. ↑ [file:///C:/Users/IEUser/AppData/Local/Temp/Iran_Foreign_Policy_byDickArmey.pdf "Empowering the Democratic Opposition"] Check |url= value (help) (PDF). Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Woman Ordered Deported; Not a Terrorist, Lawyer Says", The Vancouver Sun, 8 April 1993
  8. 1 2 "Iranian ordered deported for attack on embassy in Ottawa", Medicine Hat News, p. 9, 7 April 1993
  9. ↑ Cunningham, Karla J. (2003), "Cross-Regional Trends in Female Terrorism", Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 26 (3): 171–195, doi:10.1080/10576100390211419
  10. ↑ Bell, Colleen (2006), "Subject to Exception: Security Certicates, National Security and Canada's Role in the "War on Terror"", Canadian journal of law and society, 21 (1): 63–83, doi:10.1353/jls.2006.0031
  11. ↑ Garduño García, Moisés (2012), La Articulació De Objetivos Y El Marketing Político Como Estrategias De Supervivecia E El Cambio Orgaizacioal De Los Moyāhedī-e Jalq-e Iran 1964-2012 (PDF) (in Spanish), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, p. 298
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