Canada’s spy agency is actively investigating what it calls multiple “credible” death threats from Iran aimed at individuals in Canada, CBC News has learned.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it’s aware of state actors from the Islamic Republic of Iran monitoring and intimidating people inside Canada to silence those who speak out publicly against the regime.
“CSIS is actively investigating several threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran based on credible intelligence,” CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam said in a media statement to CBC News.
“Ultimately, these hostile activities and foreign interference undermine the security of Canada and Canadians, as well as our democratic values and sovereignty.”
It’s the first time the agency has confirmed multiple ongoing investigations involving what it calls “lethal threats to Canadians and people located in Canada” emanating from Iran.
The details were released to CBC News after Britain’s domestic intelligence chief revealed Wednesday that the United Kingdom faces a major security threat from Iran, Russia and China — countries the U.K. accuses of using violence and intimidation abroad to pursue their interests.
A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on Sept. 21 shows Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody. (AFP via Getty Images)
For the past two months, demonstrators have taken to the streets in Iran to protest the regime. The massive demonstrations were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police and died in custody after allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.
At least 341 people — including teenagers and children — have been killed and more than 15,800 have been detained in relation to Iran’s protests, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency, an organization of Iranian activists. Experts suggest the true numbers could be much higher, given the regime’s crackdown on the release of real-time information online.
MI5, the United Kingdom’s domestic counter-intelligence agency, said Iran’s intelligence service is targeting dissidents abroad they “perceive as enemies of the regime.”
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum gives a speech at Thames House in central London on Nov. 16. (Yui Mok/Associated Press)
Ken McCallum, director-general of MI5, said Iran is responsible for at least 10 potential threats to kidnap or kill British or U.K.-based people this year.
“Iran projects threat to the U.K. directly, through its aggressive intelligence services,” said McCallum.
“The foreign secretary made clear to the Iranian regime just last week that the U.K. will not tolerate intimidation or threats to life towards journalists, or any individual, living in the U.K.”
Family members in Canada who have criticized Iran’s government after losing their loved ones in the destruction of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020 have also reported to RCMP that they’ve been targeted for threats and intimidation by Tehran. Flight 752 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after takeoff on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew aboard.
CSIS said in its 2021 annual report that it continued to “investigate credible reports” involving “threat actors linked to proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Families of Flight 752 victims report threats
Loved ones of Canadians and permanent residents who died in the crash of Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS752, say they’ve received a growing number of threats believed to be from Iran and inside Canada.
Dennis Horak, Canada’s former chargé d’affaires in Iran, said that kidnapping and killing people abroad has been part of the Iranian regime’s playbook for decades. He said the latest threats are a reminder of the nature of the regime.
“This is a regime that does not play by the rules internationally and never has,” said Horak, who worked at Canada’s embassy in Tehran from 2009 until it closed in 2012.
In the late 1980s to 1990s, many Iranian dissidents went missing or were killed abroad.
Iranian agents murdered Sadegh Sharafkandi, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, in Berlin at a restaurant. The Germans prosecuted the case and issued international arrest warrants in 1997 for top Iranian regime officials.
Horak said that it was rare for MI5 to reveal the number of attempts, which could signal the agency’s level of concern.
“The Brits may feel that the Iranians have nothing to lose at this point in terms of their international limits, so they may step it up and go after some people who are making the biggest noise about what’s happening domestically,” he said.
CSIS said that while it cannot comment on specific cases, it’s urging people in Canada who believe they’re being targeted by Iran to contact the RCMP. The agency said it’s working with domestic and international partners and the Iranian-Canadian community.
The Iranian diaspora in Canada continues to stage its own protests; the next one is planned for this weekend.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
