Doctor wanted in abduction surfaces in Iran

DR. SAREN AZER LOCATED IN IRAN AFTER BEING FEATURED PROMINENTLY IN PUBLISHED PHOTOS

A Canadian doctor wanted by the RCMP for child abduction has surfaced in Iran with the children.

Dr. Saren Azer and his children, originally from Comox, B.C., are living in the city of Mahabad in northwestern Iran, Postmedia has confirmed.

Azer, an Iranian Kurd, does not appear to be concerned about the international warrant issued for his arrest; he recently attended the funeral of a retired university director in Mahabad. The event was also attended by top Iranian-Kurdish officials, including a member of the country’s parliament. Azer was featured prominently in photographs published by a local media outlet.

Mahabad is originally Azer’s home city and where his mother, four brothers and four sisters live.

The Canadian government has been aware that Azer has been living in Mahabad for at least a month, sources say.

Azer’s former wife, Alison, has been frantically searching for her children: 11-year-old Sharvahn; Rojevahn, 9; Dersim, 7; and Meitan, 3. In August, the RCMP issued an arrest warrant for Saren Azer on charges of abduction after he failed to return from a trip to Europe with the children.

The abduction of the Azer children has sparked debate in the House of Commons and prompted vigils across Canada. On Wednesday, a vigil was held in Montreal, with those attending calling on the federal government to take action to aid in the return of the Canadian youngsters. Another vigil will be held in Vancouver on May 7.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the return of the children is a priority for his government.

After he left Europe, Saren Azer took the children to a village in Kurdistan in Iraq, just kilometres away from ongoing fighting. It is unclear when he took the children to live in Iran.

Alison Azer said she has received emails from residents in Mahabad, informing her the children have been seen in public and that they are under the care of her former husband’s mother, Aysheh Pendareh, and two of his sisters, Shahla Mahmudi-Azer and Maheen Mahmudi-Azer.

“Saren is trying to integrate into Iranian society,” Alison said.

But Saren Azer’s return to Iran raises new questions about his refugee claim that prompted Canada to award him citizenship. After arriving in Canada in 1994, Azer denounced the Iranian government and claimed his life was in danger if he were ever to return to that country. Azer also claimed to have been tortured by the Iranian government.

Alison Azer said she was initially shocked to find out her former husband had returned to Iran. “He came to Canada claiming political asylum and telling the Canadian government that his life was at risk in Iran because of his Kurdish political views,” she said. “He said he could never go back there.”

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned the government not to grant Saren citizenship as they alleged he was linked to a terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, better known as the PKK.

But the spy agency was overruled and a campaign supported by university professors, human-rights activists and such politicians as the NDP’s Svend Robinson, the Reform Party’s Rahim Jaffer and Liberal MP David Kilgour prompted Canada to grant Azer citizenship.

Mahabad, a city of 280,000, is considered a Kurdish enclave. Iranian forces have been battling Kurdish guerrillas in the region and last year the city was the site of violent protests after a Kurdish woman fell to her death at a hotel. Protesters blamed the death on an Iranian government official.

Alison Azer said she originally admired and supported her ex-husband’s efforts to help Kurdish refugees. But the two separated more than three years ago after Saren talked about moving the family to the Middle East and having the children accompany him to war zones. Alison said he also became increasingly strident in his views regarding Islam.

In turn, she voiced concern about his involvement with Kurdish guerrillas.

Saren Azer was legally permitted to leave Canada with the children on a trip to Europe. But when he didn’t return, the courts granted full custody of the children to Alison and the warrant was issued for his arrest.

INTERPOL published photographs and details about the Canadian children, listing them as missing.

Saren Azer was also prominent in Canada’s Kurdish community. Last year he was featured in one of prime minister Stephen Harper’s videos on Canada’s involvement in the Iraq war.

In a video posted on Harper’s website on April 1, 2015, Azer praised the Conservative government for extending Canada’s military mission in Iraq. He also met with Harper in his office.

Azer also met with then Conservative defence minister Jason Kenney. Kenney lauded Azer as a man “doing tremendous work” with Canada’s Kurdish community to help Iraqi refugees.

But after the disappearance of the children, the Conservative government distanced itself from Azer.