The Murder of Zahra Kazemi

Discussion in 'Middle East' started by JessCurious, May 22, 2019.

  1. JessCurious

    JessCurious Well-Known Member

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    Zahra Kazemi was a 55 year-old freelance photgrapher born in Iran who had become a
    Canadian citizen. In 2003 there was considerable unrest in Iran, and Kazemi obtained a
    permit to photograph demonstrations that were taking place against the government. These
    demonstrations were brutally suppressed and 4,000 students had been arrested and detained. On June 23rd, Kazemi was photographing the familes of detainees waiting
    outside Iran's infamous Evin Prison for word of their loved ones. Kazemi was suddenly
    arrested in spite of her permit and taken into the prison.

    No word of her reached the outside world until 19 days later when on July 11th it was
    announced by the Iranian government that she had died of a stroke while being interogated.
    The Canadian government immediately began asking questions about the death, and the
    Iranians changed their story to say she had fallen and fatally hit her head. More questions
    were asked and on July 16, 2003, Iran's vice-president Mohammed Ali Abtahi admitted
    that Kazemi had been beaten and had died of a fractured skull.

    On July 23rd, Kazemi's body was buried, against her son's wishes, in her hometown of
    Shiraz, Iran. Her son, Stephan Hachemi, had wanted her buried in Montreal where he
    lived. Her mother, Ezzat Kazemi, later said she was pressured by the government to
    allow the burial in Shiraz. On July 30th, Mohammed Ali Abtahi admitted that Kazemi
    was probably murdered by government agents.

    On August 23, 2003, two Iranian intelligence officers who had interogated Kazemi were
    charged with "complicity in semi-intentional murder." On July 26, 2004, Kazemi's mother
    told the court her daughter had been tortured and said she had been forced to agree to
    her burial in Iran to prevent the Canadians from performing an autopsy. Nevertheless,
    the Iranian judge cleared the defendants of any wrongdoing.

    In March, 2005, Dr. Shahram Azam, the doctor who examined Kazemi when she died,
    defected to the West from Iran. Dr. Azam said that, in addition to her fractured skull, Kazemi
    had a broken nose, whipping marks on her back, fingernails missing, two broken fingers,
    a crushed toe, severe abdominal bruising, and extensive injuries to her genitals. Kazemi had never been charged with any crime. About a dozen other journalists have been
    murdered in Iran.

    Reporters Without Borders in 2018 ranked Iran 164th out of 180 countries when it came
    to freedom of the press.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2019

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