Dokument #1202121
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
The following information was provided
during a 28 January 1997 telephone interview with a French
journalist who was posted in Tehran between 1992 and 1996.
On several occassions the source travelled
to the Caspian Sea area for work and leisure activities. The source
added that during his four years in Iran he never saw a checkpoint
when travelling to the Caspian Sea or in the area of Rasht and
Gorgan. Checkpoints are now rare in Iran, and there are only a few
of them on the borbers with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The
source added this could change if there is a significant event that
threathens the security of the country. There is a permanent
checkpoint on the Tehran-Chalus road near the Caspian Sea because
of a military camp, but people travelling to the Caspian Sea do not
have to use the Tehran-Chalus road.
The source stated that the roads between
Tehran and the Caspian Sea are usually busy with Iranians going to
the sea for a weekend. The traffic is usually heavy around the
Caspian Sea, taking four to five hours to travel by bus or car
between Rasht and Gorgan, and between three to four hours between
Tehran and the Caspian Sea. It is easy to travel by bus to the
Caspian Sea area from Tehran or any other important city.
The source stated that a wanted person
would not take a bus or taxi to escape the authorities, because all
bus or taxi terminals are under surveillance from the security
forces.
The following information was provided
during a 29 January 1997 telephone interview with a specialist on
Iran in England.
The source stated that there are no
roadblocks or checkpoints in the Caspian Sea area, but there are
few checkpoints near the Iraqi border because of the instability in
the Kurdish areas of Iraq.
The source added that it takes three to
four hours to travel the road between Tehran and the Caspian Sea by
car or by bus, and three to four hours to travel by car or bus
between Rasht and Gorgan. There are no roadblocks or checkpoints on
these roads, which are usually busy with weekend or holidays
traffic, or with commercial transportation to Azerbaijan.
The following information was provided
during a 31 January 1997 interview held in Ottawa with a former
professor of international affairs at Behesti University in Tehran.
The source has also been a research consultant with the Zentrum
Moderner Orient in Berlin and a fellow researcher at St. Anthony's
College at Oxford University in England.
The source stated that the Tehran-Caspian
Sea road is around 180 km long. The road is easy to travel and by
car or bus the trip would take three to four hours. The
Rasht-Gorgan road is also easy to travel and the trip would take
three to four hours by bus or car.
The source stated that under normal
circumstances the area does not have checkpoints or roadblocks. The
source added this could change if there is a significant event that
threathens the security of the country. The source indicated that a
wanted person would not represent such a threat.
For additional information on this subject,
please consult the attached document.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Former professor of international
affairs, Behesti University, Tehran. 31 January 1997.
Interview.
French journalist based in Tehran from
1992 to 1996, Paris. 28 January 1997. Telephone interview.
Specialist on Iran, England. 29 January
1997. Telephone interview.
Attachment
St. Vincent, David. 1992. Iran: A
Travel Survival Kit. Victoria, Aust.: Lonely Planet
Publications, pp. 296-321.