The family of a missing Mississauga, Ont., woman is pleading for information they hope will bring justice for their loved one, as police say her disappearance is now considered a homicide.
Suleiman Ahmadi said his sister, Mezhgan Aini, was a kind and caring person who loved her children and “always” supported her family.
“She was strong even during difficult times,” Ahmadi said in an interview from Afghanistan. “We love her so much and we miss her.”
Aini and her husband, Mohammad Yama Aini, lived in the U.S. before moving to Canada in 2017.
Peel Regional Police Det. Kevin Robbie told Global News that Aini’s husband had an allegation of assault presented in New York against him, but it did not result in charges due to diplomatic immunity. Mohammad was a former United Nations diplomat.
“It was our understanding he was supposed to go back to Afghanistan to speak with government officials, and he, in turn, came to Canada instead,” Robbie said in an interview on Monday.
Court documents indicate in July 2017, Mohammad alleged his wife tripped on a broom and fell, bruising her face near her right eye, so he drove her to the hospital. The records say staff asked his wife about possible violence from her husband, but she denied he had harmed or abused her.
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Aini’s brother told Global News she was the type who “wants peace.”
“Mezhgan was a very kind person and she was a person that wants peace in her life,” he said. “She puts things down and said that, ‘It’s OK, we don’t have any problem,’ and continued living with her husband. We were worried for her safety.”
Police said Monday in a news release that Aini, who also went by the names “Sara” or “Sarah,” was reported missing in June 2025 by family members in Afghanistan who had been unable to reach her for an extended period of time.
Robbie said 12 Division initially received the report and began a missing persons investigation. Investigators looked into her friends, family, coworkers, her banking, phone records and medical history.
“There was no signs of life that they were able to find out since June of 2022,” Robbie said.
According to her brother, they stopped communicating with Aini at some point in 2022.
He said her husband told the family she was sick, which they believed. But the family eventually became suspicious.
“(For) about three years we were unaware about Mezhgan’s life or about Mezhgan’s health,” he said. “We don’t have any photo of Mezhgan and we didn’t have any news (about) Mezhgan’s life.”
It’s what prompted the family to contact police.
The family says they’re also worried for Mezhgan’s children, who live with their father.
Authorities say Aini’s husband has been co-operating in the police investigation.
Asked if Aini’s husband is a person of interest in the investigation, Robbie said he “can’t say what his status is at this time.”
However, the detective confirmed to Global News they have “identified a suspect.”
“We want justice for our sister, because she deserves that,” Ahmadi said.
—With files from Global News’ Caryn Lieberman, Catherine McDonald and Aaron D’Andrea
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
