DRUG TRAFFICKER 'ALIVE AND WELL' IN IRAN

A former city man sent to Iran after a drug conviction in Canada is
"alive and well to this point" in his homeland despite fears of his
immediate death, his lawyer said yesterday.

Lawyer Marilyn Burns-MacLean said yesterday Morteza (Tom) Borhania,
29, was sent to Iran by Immigration Canada Monday following a failed
last-minute appeal.

She said Borhania paid the Iranian government cash to be spared, but
must still make amends for deserting the army.

"Apparently the family was required to post a very large cash bond in
the amount of approximately $50,000," Burns-MacLean said yesterday.
"But there's still an amount outstanding ... with respect to his army
desertion."

She said that will also cost several thousand dollars.

Borhania was convicted in Edmonton four years ago for trafficking
heroin, after arriving in Canada as a refugee in 1991 during the
Persian Gulf War.

The Iranian refugee had claimed he'd be executed upon his return to
Iran because he has converted from Islam to Christianity and because
he deserted the Iranian army during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.

Burns-MacLean said she has filed a complaint against Canada with the
United Nations, arguing that sending someone to a country where he
faces certain torture or death is cruel and unusual punishment.

She said a spousal application is also being filed with Immigration
Canada to allow Borhania to be reunited with his wife.

Copyright (c) 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady