Reactions to the Immigration Case of Ghalibaf's Son; Shaker Boury: You Revolutionized and Your Children Export It

The exposure of the immigration case of Ishaq Ghalibaf, the son of the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, which has led the Canadian immigration ministry to federal court, has become a hot topic on social media, with users discussing the hypocrisy of the Islamic Republic's officials. The dual life of Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's family had previously drawn public attention with a case known as 'Sismoni Gate,' and this time, Yashar Soltani, a journalist who has previously exposed the economic corruption of Islamic Republic officials and their affiliates, has focused on 'the marathon of Ishaq Ghalibaf's immigration visa acquisition.' According to publicly available documents, a federal court ruling in Canada has been issued in favor of Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's son, paving the way for him to obtain a Canadian visa. Based on these documents, Ishaq Ghalibaf's efforts to obtain a 'PR' visa, or permanent residency in Canada, began five years ago, in the winter of 1397 (2018), and his case was prolonged due to 'high security checks' in the country. As the case dragged on, Ishaq Ghalibaf hired a Canadian lawyer to sue Canadian immigration and public safety ministers, and according to a court ruling in November of this year, the Canadian immigration ministry was obliged to respond to the immigration visa request of the Speaker's son 'within 60 days.' Yashar Soltani emphasized, 'Now the court has issued a ruling in favor of Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's son, and the way to obtain a Canadian immigration visa has been paved for him.' The revelation of the Speaker's son's attempts to immigrate to Canada has sparked widespread reactions on social media. Shaker Boury, a protesting satirist who had previously been arrested for his online activities, published a video on Instagram in response to Ishaq Ghalibaf's immigration efforts, saying, 'Honestly, Uncle Baqer, look at what kind of country you’ve built that even your only son doesn't want to live in it.' He pointed to the increasing emigration of the children of Islamic Republic officials to Western countries, adding, 'Oh! Ishaq doesn’t want to go for his own happiness! He’s going to export the revolution! Uncle Baqer, why is it only your children who are responsible for exporting the revolution to Western countries?' Shaker Boury emphasized the difficulties of emigration for citizens from Iran, addressing Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, 'Oh! You revolutionized, and your children are exporting it! It’s all in your hands!' Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, a political activist with a history of membership in the Ansar Hezbollah group in the 70s, shared the original link to the documents available in this case, writing, 'The gentlemen supporters of the Islamic Republic and the tools of tyranny think that the whole world is like the Islamic Republic and can be denied or dismissed with a rumor; the entire immigration case of Ishaq Ghalibaf, son of Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, and his request for retrial is available and accessible on the Canadian government website.' Sadegh Bigdeli, a legal expert and former assistant professor at Beheshti University, provided legal explanations about this case in a video on social media. Bigdeli stated that the efforts of the son of the 'revolutionary speaker' to obtain permanent residency in Canada, 'especially in 1397, just one year after his father's report, which stated that his assets totaled one million tomans, a motorcycle, and a 1971 Nissan pickup, if that’s not a sign of collapse, then what is?' He emphasized, 'Does this young prince really think that by hiring a non-Iranian (Canadian) lawyer and spending thousands of dollars and going to court, the issues will remain hidden?' According to this expert residing in Canada, Ishaq Ghalibaf's victory in this case does not mean that a permanent residency visa has been issued, and 'this victory merely means that his security checks must be completed within 60 days,' which 'given the date of the ruling (October 24), should have been completed by December. The result is still unknown.' Shahabuddin Golzarfar, a user on social media, sarcastically noted while sharing a list that Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf had provided of his family's assets, 'You can immigrate to Canada with one million tomans.' Yaghma Fakhshami, a journalist, also referred to the background of Ishaq Ghalibaf's activities and his father's cover-ups for him, writing, 'Ghalibaf said in 1393 that my son is a simple teacher. However, the Khordad website published documents stating that Elias is the director of the Shams al-Shumos Institute, which is worth over 20 billion (in 1394); Ghalibaf sued, and Khordad News was acquitted. In 1396, Rouhani's headquarters also wrote: Ghalibaf's son's business activities inside and outside the country are well-known.' Amir Tanha, a reformist political activist, also referred to the arrests and summons of activists in Iran, saying, 'Last November, when we were taken to the Revolutionary Court, Ghalibaf's son also had a case in court, poor guy! But I was charged with propaganda against the regime, and he was for immigration to Canada!' Maziar Khosravi, a journalist, also referred to the remarks of a state TV presenter who told opponents of the Islamic Republic to leave Iran, writing, 'Didn’t that lady tell us that anyone who doesn’t like it should leave Iran? So why are they leaving themselves?' In recent days, Mohammad Nourizad, a political prisoner in Evin, emphasized in an audio file exclusively obtained by VOA, 'Mojtaba Khamenei is a thief. He must be held accountable. Ghalibaf is a thief, a murderer, a bird catcher. They must be held accountable. Ghalibaf's son is a thief.' While Nourizad was speaking about the financial corruption case of the Speaker's son, his phone suddenly cut off, and after that, prison officials did not allow him to make phone calls.