They served in an Iranian force Canada lists as terrorist. They say they were conscripts — but now may face removal

Of note. Legitimate distinction between conscripts vs regular members:

…On a single day, a large number of Iranian immigration applicants were notified by the Immigration Department that they may be inadmissible because they previously were conscripted to serve the organization. The Unheard Conscripts Advocacy Network believes the number to be several hundred. 

“Conscription is mandatory in Iran and we cannot flee from that,” said Gharehchahi, 35, who has a background in engineering and was assigned to IRGC’s dam-construction projects in 2014 and 2015, after his undergrad studies in Iran. “We all get punished if we don’t do our conscription over there.”

Since Ottawa’s listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, immigration officials have begun flagging individual Iranian applicants for inadmissibility over alleged ties to the force. But the recent mass notifications — based on possible IRGC membership as a result of service in the force — have shocked the community. People worry the approach is capturing innocent conscripts who have never participated in terrorism.

Is Canada targeting the right people?

The Liberal government’s response to IRGC has been prompted by the group’s downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in 2020, alleged involvement with other designated terrorist groups and brutal repression of Iranian people. The federal government has also been criticized for admitting IRGC officials in Canada.

With concerns over the regime’s harassment and intimidation of the diaspora in Canada, the Conservatives have urged stronger enforcement to ensure non-citizens are deemed inadmissible if “involved in regime-linked businesses, spreading propaganda, or human rights abuses.” The opposition also wants inadmissibility be extended to immediate non-citizen family members of regime officials.

“The government of Canada has wanted to show the Iranian community in Canada and the rest of the world that it takes the issue of the human rights violations in Iran seriously,” said Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman, who has had more than 30 consultations with anxious applicants in Canada flagged for potential inadmissibility since Aug. 7….

Source: They served in an Iranian force Canada lists as terrorist. They say they were conscripts — but now may face removal