Ex-KGB officer’s wife, son, to remain in Canada

Lennikov

By IAN ALLEN| intelNews.org |
On March 2, we reported that the Canadian government had notified Mikhail Alexander Lennikov, a former KGB officer living in British Columbia, that he and his family were soon to be issued with deportation orders. Last week, however, the family received what Canadian media describe as “a partial reprieve”. Specifically, they were told that Lennikov’s wife, Irina, and son, Dmitri, will not be deported back to Russia. Lennikov, who spent five years working for the KGB in the 1980s, has been living in Canada with his wife and teenage son since 1992. Late last February, however, Canada’s Public Safety Ministry rejected Lennikov’s refugee claim and notified him that he “can be ordered deported from the country in as early as a few weeks”. Canadian authorities have refused to reveal the precise reason for the former KGB agent’s pending deportation. But in 2007, commenting on the case of former KGB Lieutenant-Colonel Givi Abramishvili, who was also deported from Canada, a government representative had said that “Canada […] is not a safe haven for those that may be a danger to national security”. Lennikov rejects accusations that he is a threat to Canada’s national security and has previously stated that he voluntarily revealed his KGB background to Canadian authorities. He has also said that, if sent back to Russia, he could face imprisonment for having revealed his KGB connection to a foreign government. Speaking earlier today, a Canadian Border Services Agency representative insisted that Agency officials are obligated by law to deport Lennikov “as soon as possible”.