Detained Cdn. boy and Iranian parents return to Toronto

by Kaitlin | March 21, 2007 at 09:27 am

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The family is scheduled to land at Pearson Airport today at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. They had previously tried to return to Canada via Guyana (with false French passports) but were detained by US officials when a passenger on their flight had a heart attack and died, forcing a landing on US soil. Although the parents are Iranians seeking asylum, their son Kevin was born in Toronto where the couple was living for ten years before being deported.

TORONTO (CP) - A Canadian boy and his Iranian parents were scheduled to touch down in Toronto late Wednesday afternoon after being freed from the Texas detention centre where they've spent the last several weeks.

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Diane Finley has granted the family temporary passage to Canada, but their Canadian lawyer says they've had to wait for Canadian and U.S. officials to sign off on the documents required for their release.

Kevin Yourdkhani's parents, who say they were tortured and imprisoned in Iran, are expected to make a second bid for asylum once back on Canadian soil.

The family was expected to board a Toronto-bound flight in Houston that was scheduled to arrive in Toronto just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, the family's lawyer, Andrew Brouwer, told The Canadian Press.