![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/70c8fc80.png\")
<\/p>\nAn alleged senior member of the Iranian regime who has been living in Canada has lost his attempt to ban the public from his deportation hearing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In a ruling handed down in Toronto on Tuesday, the Immigration and Refugee Board denied Abbas Omidi\u2019s request for closed-door proceedings.<\/p>\n
The decision said that \u201chiding Mr. Omidi\u2019s identity would have a strong deleterious\/negative effect on the public\u2019s interest in the open court process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Global News reported on Omidi\u2019s case last month<\/a> but was not permitted to name him because of a publication ban imposed by the Refugee Board.<\/p>\n However, Global News fought the decision and the Refugee Board has now reversed the restrictions in a ruling that found no evidence that Omidi would face any danger as a result of press reporting on his case.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI am unable to find sufficient credible evidence that establishes Mr. Omidi and his family face a real and substantial risk of harm if Mr. Omidi\u2019s identity is disclosed in media reporting,\u201d the decision said.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not find Mr. Omidi\u2019s application satisfies the requirement that the openness of the proceedings poses a serious risk to an important public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n Omidi is one of 28 suspected high-level officials of Iran\u2019s repressive government<\/a> who have been caught during an immigration crackdown that began in 2022.<\/p>\n He is the latest to be publicly identified.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n The Canada Border Services Agency wants to expel him on the grounds that he served in a senior capacity in his country\u2019s Islamic regime.<\/a><\/p>\n The details about the position he allegedly held in the Iranian government before he arrived in Canada have not yet been released but will be tabled at the hearing.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:36 Omidi appeared for a deportation hearing on Feb. 4, but instead argued the Refugee Board should hold the proceedings behind closed doors.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n To support his bid for a private hearing, he submitted several news articles concerning Iran, including one about the recent disappearance of B.C. anti-regime activist Masood Masjoody.<\/p>\n But the\u00a0Refugee Board said the exhibits did \u201cnot provide credible evidence of a risk that is real and substantial.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision noted that a letter submitted by the\u00a0Iranian Canadian Legal Professionals had argued that \u201cIranian Canadians would be particularly affected by non-disclosure of Mr. Omidi\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore on Canada \u201cFor Iranian Canadians who fled persecution by the Iranian regime, the desire to know who among them in their community were high ranking officials of the regime is not a matter of curiosity,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cI find that this information has a significant impact on their personal security, as there are inherent physical and emotional safety risks to associating with people directly linked to their own persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n The Canadian government barred senior Iranian officials from the country after Tehran crushed women\u2019s rights protests that erupted over the killing of Mahsa Amini<\/a>, who had been arrested for showing her hair.<\/p>\n The sanctions took on new urgency following anti-government protests that began in December and were brutally suppressed by regime forces<\/a>, which killed thousands.<\/p>\n It was unclear what impact the war on Iran, which began on Feb. 28, could have on Ottawa\u2019s efforts to expel past and present regime members, whom critics say have been using Canada as a safe haven.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n Even before the war started, immigration enforcement officers were struggling to persuade the Refugee Board to remove the officials from Canada.<\/p>\n The IRB has allowed five of the alleged officials to stay in the country, while only one has been deported, and others are in the queue for hearings.<\/p>\n Most of the officials have had their hearings heard in secrecy, despite appeals by Global News. Only five deportation cases have been public, including Omidi\u2019s.<\/p>\n The issue became politically charged on Monday, when the Conservatives accused<\/a> the government of \u201chiding their identities and letting them claim asylum instead.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767930311_275_national.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Click](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260309-JEFF.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWho is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran\u2019s new supreme leader?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n