'It's not about me': Human rights activist Irwin Cotler on alleged Iranian assassination plot

Canadian human rights advocate and former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler — who was the target of an alleged foiled assassination plot by agents of Iran — says he isn’t concerned about the alleged threats, because he has confidence in his protective detail.

Cotler added that he believes the alleged threats against him are not personal, but rather an example of an increasingly aggressive Iranian regime.

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“I have excellent protection, and at this point, I don't worry about it, because I think part of the objective of the Iranian regime is to silence, to intimidate, to harass, and I think we cannot indulge that,” Cotler told CTV News Channel’s Power Play host Vassy Kapelos in an interview Tuesday.

“We have to, on the other hand, combat it,” he added. “We have to hold the Iranian regime accountable, at the same time as we show solidarity with the Iranian people.”

Cotler is the founder and chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

Details of the alleged plot, which was foiled by law enforcement, were first reported by The Globe and Mail on Monday, citing unnamed sources. The news was confirmed to CTV News by Cotler’s office. The newspaper reported that Cotler was informed of an imminent threat on his life late last month.

Cotler, who is also a former special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, confirmed to CTV News last December that he was under 24-hour security protection, but would not say why.

He told Kapelos in an interview last December that he was receiving “excellent protection,” and that he felt “safe.”

“I've just continued with my work and my advocacy, because it's not really about me,” he said during Tuesday’s interview. “What we're talking here about is a phenomenon of transnational repression and assassination, and Iran has begun to target, now in a more intensified way, dissidents, human rights defenders, political leaders, etc.”

Irwin Cotler, former Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, speaks as he is recognized for his work at the Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press)

Cotler called the phenomenon “threat to our national security, our national sovereignty, our collective human rights,” and called on democratic leaders to view his case as a “wake up call.”

He said the issue of Iranian transnational and domestic repression must become a G7 priority, and that Canada should launch a special agency to combat it. Cotler cited the example of Canada’s foreign interference inquiry as one aspect of transnational repression, adding there are other facets of the issue that should be fully examined and addressed.

“But as I said, we've seen this elsewhere, so we need a particular department to deal with it,” Cotler said. “We have to see to it that we work in a concerted way amongst the community of democracies and make this a priority on our agenda as a matter of principle and policy.”

Several MPs voiced concerns about the alleged assassination plot, including Liberal MP Anthony Housefather — the prime minister’s new special advisor on Jewish community relations and anti-Semitism — who called it “a shocking and horrible thing,” and “totally unacceptable.”

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And on Monday, MPs unanimously supporting a Bloc Quebecois-led motion to recognize Cotler’s contributions to human rights condemn the death threats “orchestrated by agents of the Iranian regime.”

In an email statement to CTV News on Monday, the RCMP says it does not disclose the details of its protective measures, nor does it confirm the identities of the people receiving protection, but adding those decisions are based on “ongoing threat and risk assessments.”

You can watch Cotler’s full interview in the video player at the top of this article