Robab Farahi-Mahdavieh
{{Short description|Iranian political activist}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Robab Farahi-Mahdavieh
| nationality = Iranian
| criminal_charge = Providing logistical support for terrorist operations{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}
| allegiance = People's Mujahedin of Iran
| conviction = Illegal entry
| trial = Federal Court of Canada
| trial_start = 1992
| trial_end = 1993
| country = Canada
| states = Ontario
| locations = Ottawa
| targets = Embassy of Iran in Ottawa
| apprehended = 1992
}}
Robab Farahi-Mahdavieh ({{langx|fa|رباب فرحی مهدویه}}) is a member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) who was arrested by Canada in 1992, and in 1993 she was deported from Canada back to the United Kingdom on the grounds of national security. She was arrested under one of only 28 security certificates ever issued in Canada.
Activities
= Canada =
Believed to be the leader of the MEK's North American operations, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) identified her as their "chief fundraiser and recruiter" in Canada and a "leading female member".{{citation|last=Bell|first=Stewart|url=http://circ.jmellon.com/docs/view.asp?id=658|work=The National Post|title=Guerrillas claim links to Canada|date=July 19, 2004}} She was alleged to have organized the flash mob that attacked the Embassy of Iran in Ottawa, following Iranian airstrikes against MEK camps.{{citation|work=Montreal Gazette|title=Muslim Council to contest the constitutionality of process|date=16 July 2003}}{{citation|last=Martin|first=Gus|isbn=9780761988731|title=The New Era of Terrorism: Selected Readings|publisher=SAGE|year=2004|page=94}} 19 MEK members were pleaded guilty to various charges for the attacks{{citation|work=The Ottawa Citizen|title=Iranians to Recount Khomeini Horrors at Sentencing|date=29 May 1994}} that injured the Iranian ambassador and two other employees.
Her lawyer, Phil Rankin, told the press that "It’s a gross exaggeration to call this woman a terrorist. All she did was mastermind a demonstration that got out of hand".{{citation|work=The Vancouver Sun|title=Woman Ordered Deported; Not a Terrorist, Lawyer Says|date=8 April 1993}} Pierre Denault, designated judge at the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Farahi-Mahdavieh's testimony lacked credibility and "It is enough that Mahdavieh admitted to being an active member of the MEK, and there is little doubt the group was involved in this specific attack".{{citation|work=Medicine Hat News|page=9|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/medicine-hat-news-apr-07-1993-p-9/|title=Iranian ordered it deported for an attack on the embassy in Ottawa|date=7 April 1993}} She was deported on 26 March 1993. Mahnaz Samadi, who filled her role leading the civilian wing of the MEK, was later deported from Canada in 2000 for acts of terrorism.{{citation|last=Cunningham|first=Karla J.|title=Cross-Regional Trends in Female Terrorism|journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|issue=3|volume=26|year=2003|pages=171–195|doi=10.1080/10576100390211419|s2cid=110362253}}
The case is notable among security certificate cases in Canada for how "civil or criminal rules of evidence are not applicable", and the judge decided to consider any evidence deemed reliable.{{citation|last=Bell|first=Colleen|title=Subject to Exception: Security Certificates, National Security and Canada's Role in the "War on Terror"|journal=Canadian Journal of Law and Society|issue=1|volume=21|year=2006|pages=63–83|doi=10.1353/jls.2006.0031|s2cid=145001522}}
= United States =
She continued to act as a member of the MEK network in the United States. After the MEK has listed a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1997, she funneled money to American politicians.{{citation|last=Garduño García|first=Moisés|url=https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/660329/gardu%C3%B1o_garcia_moises.pdf?sequence=1|title=La Articulació De Objetivos Y El Marketing Político Como Estrategias De Supervivecia E El Cambio Orgaizacioal De Los Moyāhedī-e Jalq-e Iran 1964-2012|publisher=Universidad Autónoma de Madrid|year=2012|language=es|page=298}} One of the first MEK contributions to Robert Torricelli came from her bank account in 1993, made out a $1,000 check to the Torricelli campaign. She listed her occupation as "Physician."{{citation|last=Timmerman|first=Kenneth R.|url=http://search.opinionarchives.com/Summary/AmericanSpectator/V31I1P26-1.htm|url-access=subscription|title=Torricelli's Terrorist List Friends|work=The American Spectator|date=January 1998|volume=31|number=1|page=26}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://app.vlex.com/#CA.open/search/jurisdiction:CA+basicSearchAll:1/Mahdavieh/CA.open/vid/680588265 Farahi-Mahdavieh, Re (1993), 63 F.T.R. 120 (TD)]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farahi-Mahdavieh, Robab}}
Category:People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members
Category:People imprisoned on terrorism charges
Category:Prisoners and detainees of Canada
Category:Refugees in the United Kingdom