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RALLY TO DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO DEATH OF KURDISH REFUGEE HOSSEIN BLUJANI

WHAT: Rally to Demand Investigation into Death of Kurdish Refugee Hossein Blujani
WHEN: Tuesday February 12, 2013 at 9:30 am
WHERE: Federal Court, 701 West Georgia, corner Granville
WHO: Iranian Federation of Refugees, Lawyer Peter Edelmann, Kinbrace Housing Society, No One Is Illegal, and others

Monday February 11th, 2013, Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories – The Kurdish and Iranian communities as well as refugee advocates will be holding a memorial in remembrance of deceased Kurdish-Iranian refugee Hossein Blujani on Tuesday February 12 at 9:30 am at 701 West Georgia. The body of the 31-year-old was found on December 1, 2012 on the railway tracks near Commercial Drive and Broadway in an apparent suicide. The groups are demanding an investigation into this death and condemning Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) for enforcing racist and inhumane policies.

Blujani survived over 12 years of imprisonment, torture and forced labour in Iran and Iraq. When Blujani sought refuge in Canada he was faced with immediate detention and CBSA began to pursue unfounded allegations of him being a “security threat” and a member of a “terrorist” organization – an organization he was recruited into as a 15-year old and one which Canada itself has delisted. Blujani had appealed this decision and a Federal Court hearing was set for February 12th, 2013. However on February 8th, the Court dismissed the appeal due to his death.

Blujani’s lawyer Peter Edelmann says, “Hossein came to Canada having been recognized as a refugee by the UNHCR and seeking this country’s protection. The Minister of Public Safety and his representatives undertook an extended campaign to deny Hossein any status or protection in Canada based on an absurd understanding of national security. We are saddened to have witnessed the devastating impact on a person who found himself targeted by the Canadian government rather than being given the protection he so desperately sought.”

According to Sozan Savehilaghi, a Kurdish-Iranian and member of No One Is Illegal, “The definition for security inadmissibility under s.34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is overly broad and vague and it allows Canada to arbitrarily profile and label hundreds of refugees like Hossein as security threats and terrorists. This fear-mongering and racist scapegoating has very real consequences in the lives of refugees: living with fear, constantly harassed and interrogated, despite not being charged, and every day marked with anxiety and insecurity.”

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sozan Savehilaghi (No One Is Illegal) 778 322 5349
Peter Edelmann (Legal Counsel) 604 626 9454