woensdag, juli 28, 2004
Canada categorically rejected Iran's latest explanation of the death in custody of a Canadian-Iranian photographer, deepening a diplomatic rift over the affair.
The Iranian judiciary said four days after a security agent was acquitted of her murder, that Zahra Kazemi had been on a hunger strike after her arrest last year and had fallen down due to her weakened state. "This theory has absolutely no credibility," Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron, told Quebec's RDI television channel.
In a showdown with the judiciary, Iran's reformist government earlier concluded the 54-year-old photographer died in July 2003 from a brain haemorrhage caused by a blow to her skull after her arrest for taking photos outside a prison.
Nobel prize winning lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who is representing Kazemi's family in the case, has rejected the judiciary's thesis, and the photographer's son has accused Canada's government of not doing enough to secure justice in the case.
On Saturday, an intelligence agent accused of dealing the fatal blow to Kazemi, 42-year-old Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, was acquitted. He had insisted he was a scapegoat.
The judiciary said, given that verdict, there was only one explanation for Kazemi's death. "This is that the incident leading to the death of the late Kazemi was because of a drop in her blood sugar level caused by her hunger strike, thus making her fall from a standing position and get hurt," it said.
In a furious response, Ebadi and her team of lawyers renewed charges of a top-level cover-up and urged the head of the judiciary to allow an independent probe. "There is concrete proof... showing a high-ranking official in Evin prison gave Zahra Kazemi a very strong punch to the left side of her head, breaking her skull," a statement from Ebadi and her team said. "What we want to know is why some people want to cover it up."
Bron: AFP.
The Iranian judiciary said four days after a security agent was acquitted of her murder, that Zahra Kazemi had been on a hunger strike after her arrest last year and had fallen down due to her weakened state. "This theory has absolutely no credibility," Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron, told Quebec's RDI television channel.
In a showdown with the judiciary, Iran's reformist government earlier concluded the 54-year-old photographer died in July 2003 from a brain haemorrhage caused by a blow to her skull after her arrest for taking photos outside a prison.
Nobel prize winning lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who is representing Kazemi's family in the case, has rejected the judiciary's thesis, and the photographer's son has accused Canada's government of not doing enough to secure justice in the case.
On Saturday, an intelligence agent accused of dealing the fatal blow to Kazemi, 42-year-old Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, was acquitted. He had insisted he was a scapegoat.
The judiciary said, given that verdict, there was only one explanation for Kazemi's death. "This is that the incident leading to the death of the late Kazemi was because of a drop in her blood sugar level caused by her hunger strike, thus making her fall from a standing position and get hurt," it said.
In a furious response, Ebadi and her team of lawyers renewed charges of a top-level cover-up and urged the head of the judiciary to allow an independent probe. "There is concrete proof... showing a high-ranking official in Evin prison gave Zahra Kazemi a very strong punch to the left side of her head, breaking her skull," a statement from Ebadi and her team said. "What we want to know is why some people want to cover it up."
Bron: AFP.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 21:55
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