Canadian Court Orders the Islamic Republic of Iran to Pay $560 Million to Torture Victim

Appeals to decency won’t work with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Threats to Iran’s pocketbook, on the other hand, if sufficiently large, might change the behavior of the regime that tortures and murders its own citizens who have challenged its rule. Now a Canadian court has awarded an Iranian living in Canada the spectacular sum of $560 million, which the Islamic Republic has been ordered to pay. The Islamic Republic, of course, will not do so, but Canadian civil courts have previously ordered the seizure and sale of non-diplomatic Iranian properties (including bank accounts and real estate); the proceeds from these sales were distributed to families of victims of terrorism sponsored by groups linked to Iran. I don’t know if Canada still has some Iranian frozen assets, or how much they amount to, but that would be one source of funds to pay at least part of the judgment. More on this record-breaking award, the largest civil judgement in Canadian history, can be found here: “Ontario Court Orders Iran to Pay Over $560 Million to Canadian Torture Survivor in Landmark Judgment,” by Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner, June 12, 2026:

An Ontario court has ordered the Iranian regime to pay more than $560 million to a Canadian citizen who was tortured in Iran decades ago, marking one of the largest civil awards ever issued in the country.

In a Thursday ruling, Canadian authorities found the Iranian regime must pay 5 percent annual interest on previously awarded damages to victim Zahed Haftlang, who fled to Canada in 2001 after enduring two years of torture in an Iranian prison.

Because the abuse dates back to 1990, 36 years of accrued interest adds an additional $360 million to the original award, bringing the total owed to Haftlang to $560 million — an amount that may be the largest ever granted by a Canadian civil court to an individual.

Once a child soldier during the Iran-Iraq War, Haftlang was captured in 1990 and, after being returned to Iran, endured repeated abuse amid growing suspicion from authorities.

“They labeled him an ‘infidel’ and tortured him in an effort to force loyalty to the Supreme Leader,” court documents said.

Last month, the Ontario court ruled that Iran was legally responsible for Haftlang’s abuse, finding that the torture was driven by political, religious, and ideological motives — falling under the definition of terrorism under Canadian law.

The judge determined that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), operating under the authority of the Supreme Leader, carried out the acts of torture at the center of the case.

With this decision, Iran was also denied the protection of sovereign immunity, the legal doctrine that normally shields foreign states from civil suits in Canadian courts….

Such a huge sum, even if only part of it can actually be seized from Iran’s frozen assets still in Canada, will have a shocking effect on Iranian leaders. They will have to wonder whether other countries, perhaps holding more of Iran’s assets than Canada, will award similar sums to Iranian plaintiffs abroad. And it is possible that judgements similar in size will now be reached against Iranian individuals, such as senior leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the men who ran Evin Prison, holding them personally liable for tortures inflicted on Iranian dissidents who are now in exile and prepared to sue in foreign courts. In Europe and the United States, a new Iranian terror group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya has started to attack sites in Western Europe, but it may wish to reconsider such activities in light of the Canadian award.