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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran slammed on Iranian-Canadian photographerâs death |
| 2004-07-10 |
| The son of an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in an Iranian jail a year ago Saturday, blasted a looming court proceeding on the case as a âfarce.â Zahra Kazemi, 54, was arrested in June 2003 for taking photographs outside Tehranâs notorious Evin prison. She died in hospital on July 10, 2003 from a brain haemorrhage caused by a blow to the head. The case triggered a diplomatic row between Ottawa and Tehran â and ties between the two countries are still in the deep freeze, a year later.. After a fierce struggle over the case between Iranian conservatives and reformers, court proceedings are due to resume in Iran on July 17. Kazemiâs family will be represented by Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi. âThis trial is the same farce that it has always been,â Kazemiâs son, Stephan Hachemi told AFP on Thursday. Hachemi also complained that the trial would fall well short of a complete inquiry into his motherâs death. Intelligence ministry agent Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, 42, has been charged with âparticipation in a semi-intentional murderâ, in a case that has sparked a feud between the courts and the intelligence service. International press watchdog group Reporters Without Borders marked the anniversary of Kazemiâs death by warning that impunity would triumph. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |