Protests Yield Results; Canada Bans Former Health Minister of the Islamic Republic

Following widespread protests by Iranians residing in Canada against the presence of the former Health Minister of the Islamic Republic in the country, Canada's Minister of Immigration announced that Seyyed Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi has been banned from entry. Mark Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, wrote on his social media account on August 28: "Based on the assessments made, I have exercised my authority to prevent Mr. Seyyed Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, former Health Minister of the Islamic Republic, from temporarily residing in Canada." Mr. Miller stated that Qazizadeh Hashemi will not have permission to travel and reside in Canada for at least 36 months, adding: "The Islamic Republic's disregard for human rights and the regime's actions in this regard are reprehensible in our view, and officials of that regime have no place in Canada." He also expressed solidarity with the Iranian people, whose rights have been systematically violated by the Iranian regime, in reference to various sanctions imposed against the Iranian regime and its officials by the Canadian government. On August 8, the broadcast of images showing Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Health Minister during Hassan Rouhani's first government, walking in the streets of Montreal sparked widespread reactions among Iranians. In these images, Qazizadeh Hashemi was accidentally captured by a camera from CBC Canada while walking with his wife and child in one of Montreal's streets, as the camera was recording a program about the tourism industry in Quebec. Amid widespread protests by Iranians in 1401 (2022), Iranians residing in Canada urged their government to expel senior officials of the Islamic Republic and their affiliates from the country. In response to this request, the Canadian government announced in several stages that a large number of Islamic Republic officials would be placed on its economic sanctions list and that their entry into Canada would also be prevented. The publication of the image of the Health Minister in Canada coincided with the sanctions against the officials of the Islamic Republic, causing a controversy.