Iran MPs hit out over killing
By Behzad Farsian in Teheran
29/10/2003
The Telegraph, UK
A report by Iran's reformist-dominated parliament yesterday condemned a hardline prosecutor over the killing of a Canadian photojournalist.
Zahra Kazemi, 54, a Canadian citizen born in Iran, was arrested in June for taking pictures outside Teheran's Evin prison, where many dissidents are held. She died in custody from a brain haemorrhage caused by a blow to the head.
Yesterday, a parliamentary commission dealing with press freedoms, attacked Teheran's chief prosecutor, Said Mortazavi, who has a reputation for jailing journalists and closing down newspapers. He had accused Ms Kazemi of spying and working without journalistic accreditation, and had blamed her death on a stroke.
"The detention of Kazemi was not justified and was against legal procedures," said the report broadcast on state-run radio.
The reformist MPs criticised Mr Mortazavi for failing to respond to questions. They are demanding a judicial investigation into his role. An intelligence ministry agent, Reza Ahmadi, has been charged with the killing, but MPs are examining a series of irregularities in the judicial investigation which led to him being accused.
The intelligence ministry, part of the reformist camp, claims the charges are politically motivated. In August, MPs said the hardline judiciary was responsible for Ms Kazemi's death and that she had already been struck on the head by the time she was handed over to the intelligence ministry.
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