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. “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 .
