| Iran was yesterday threatened with international legal proceedings and possible Canadian sanctions after a court acquitted the sole defendant accused of the killing in custody of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi. The judiciary said the intelligence agent who stood trial for the murder had been found not guilty due to "lack of proof" and declared itself unable to find the real killer. In the absence of a guilty verdict, the Iranian government has been ordered to pay "blood money" to Kazemi's family. Blood money in Iran for a woman — half that for a man — currently amounts to 120 million rials, or around $13,700. "The investigation was flawed and the court overlooked these," complained Nobel Peace Prize winner and lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who has been representing Kazemi's enraged family. "I will follow the case until my last breath," she said. "I hope this case, with a fair trial, is solved in Iran. But if it is not, since human rights is a universal issue ... I will use all international options in order to see justice done." She said her legal team would be appealing the verdict, in the hope of widening the probe. The judiciary has been accused of trying an innocent man to cover up for one of its own senior officials. |