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Photojournalist's murder causes rift among Iran's leaders

Aug 27, 2003

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Photojournalist's murder causes rift among Iran's leaders Tehran to brief Ottawa on Kazemi's death   Michael Friscolanti, with files from Tom Blackwell National Post Wednesday, August 27, 2003   Iranian officials are expected to brief the Canadian government this morning about major developments in the case of Zahra Kazemi, including details about the two women ordered to stand trial for beating the Montreal photojournalist to death. The meeting, scheduled to occur at the Canadian embassy in Tehran, comes one day after Iran insisted it had "no duty" to keep Canada abreast of the continuing murder investigation. It also comes as more details slowly emerge about the two women charged with the "semi-intentional murder" of Ms. Kazemi, whose mysterious death has not only strained relations between Iran and Canada, but has exposed a growing rift between the Islamic country's hardline judiciary and elected reformers. The rift grew even larger yesterday, as Iran's reformist-controlled Intelligence Ministry vehemently denied that two of its employees were responsible for Ms. Kazemi's death. On Monday, the prosecutor's office in Tehran announced it had charged two intelligence agents. The office did not name the accused, but human rights organizations have been told that both women were present during the initial interrogation that followed Ms. Kazemi's arrest on June 23. Some reports have described the accused as medical workers -- one a nurse; the other a personal caregiver -- while others insist they were security agents. But the Intelligence Ministry -- all but accusing the judiciary of a cover-up -- insisted that its office is innocent of any crime. A spokesman even threatened to reveal what really happened to Ms. Kazemi unless the charges are dropped. "The government considers the Intelligence Ministry clean and clear of any charges," said Abdollah Ramezanzadeh. "This should be rectified. Otherwise we will announce all we know in defence of the prestige of the government and what we know as facts." Ms. Kazemi, an Iranian ex-patriot and Canadian citizen, died on July 10, nearly three weeks after a 77-hour interrogation left her in a coma and attached to a life-support machine. She had been photographing student-led protests outside a Tehran jail when she was arrested. Authorities accused her of espionage. Iranian officials initially denied any responsibility for her death, insisting that she suffered a stroke. Officials later confirmed that Ms. Kazemi was likely killed. Observers suspect that the two women now accused of the murder, who were among five people arrested earlier this month, are being used as scapegoats to protect senior officials and show the world that someone is being punished for the murder. "It's not to say that [the women] are not guilty," said Aryo Pirouznia of the Dallas-based Student Movement Co-ordination Committee for Democracy in Iran, a group dedicated to replacing the current Islamic regime. "These people are all tools of repression in Iran. But if you ask if they were involved in the death of Kazemi, for sure they were not. This is a masquerade." Mr. Pirouznia's organization has reason to believe Ala Bakhshi and Jafar Nemati, two high-ranking officers with the intelligence unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, participated in the beating. It is believed they assisted Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran's chief prosecutor, who is reported to have personally delivered the final blows that ultimately killed the freelance photographer. Sources have told Mr. Pirouznia that the two accused women had been ordered to leave the interrogation room long before the fatal beating took place. Marlys Edwardh, a Toronto lawyer representing Ms. Kazemi's only son, Stephan Hachemi, also said she fears the two accused women are being blamed for something they did not do. "If we have a handy-dandy little confession that is the basis of this, they are just two more victims," she said yesterday. Canadian consular officials in Iran hope to learn more about the arrests this morning. A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, who confirmed today's meeting, said although the current tug-of-war between Iran's factions has complicated the case, the federal government expects the country to honour its promise of an open and transparent investigation. Meantime, Mr. Hachemi continues to grieve the loss of his mother. BloWup, a Montreal art gallery, yesterday opened an exhibit of his mother's photography, much of which chronicled the lives of the poor living in the Middle East. Part of the proceeds of the exhibit will go to Mr. Hachemi, who is still fighting to have his mother's body, which was buried in Iran against his will, returned to Canada.   mfriscolanti@nationalpost.com © Copyright  2003 National Post

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