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Journalist held in Iran brain-dead, son says

By By Kinda Jayoush
Jul 11, 2003, 10:41am

A Montreal photojournalist of Iranian origin, who was detained in Tehran last month on suspicion of being a spy, is brain-dead and not in a coma, her son Stephan Hachemi said yesterday. The family of Zahra Kazemi, 53, had said earlier she was beaten into a coma following her arrest while taking photographs of Evin prison in the northern part of Tehran on or about June 23. Hachemi had said Kazemi spoke with her mother in Iran to inform her of the arrest. "There was a misunderstanding," he said yesterday. "She did not talk with my grandmother after her arrest; it was before the arrest. Maybe she was taken directly to the hospital after the arrest because it was so violent and brutal." "We are not sure of anything now," Hachemi said. He said the family is trying to have a foreign doctor check on her and write a medical report on her condition. "Before, (the hospital) said she was in a coma, had a brain hemorrhage and a 50-per-cent survival chance, but now they are saying she is brain-dead. "I think the best way to help my mother is to bring her to Montreal soon." Reynald Doiron, a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Department, said two Canadian embassy officials visited Kazemi at the hospital yesterday and gave her family a briefing. "We are still waiting for the report from the Iranian Foreign Ministry," he said. "We also briefed her family on the Canadian officials' visit." Doiron said the department will reveal details of the visit only to the family. Hachemi said a Canadian official telephoned him from Tehran yesterday to inform him of the hospital report, which said Kazemi is brain-dead. The Iranian embassy in Ottawa said Iranian officials are checking into her case and will send the findings to the Canadians once the report is completed. "All that we know now is that she entered Iran as an Iranian citizen and not as a Canadian journalist," said a spokesperson for the Iranian embassy. Kazemi left Montreal for Iraq after the U.S.-led war, and was planning to report on the impact of the use of depleted-uranium weapons there. Melanie Navarro, assistant editor of Montreal's Recto Verso magazine, for which Kazemi used to write articles and take photographs, said Kazemi was waiting in Tehran for her visa to go to Turkmenistan and then to North Korea. "The last time I spoke with her was on June 23. She told me she wanted to postpone her departure until June 30 instead of the 23rd," Navarro said. "I guess she was covering the student demonstrations in Iran." Thousands of students were arrested in Iran last month after demonstrations calling for reforms in the Muslim theocracy. Kazemi had worked for Recto Verso on a freelance basis for about seven years. Her last report - which included a story and photos about political and social life in Afghanistan after a U.S.-led coalition toppled the Taliban - was published in April. Montreal's Iranian community expressed concern yesterday over Kazemi's condition and said organizations and members of the community have contacted her son to extend assistance. "We are trying to identify a medical expert and have him go to Iran with the help of the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department," said Amir Khadir, a physician and member of the Union des Forces Progressistes. "This doctor will examine her and decide the best way to help her." kjayoush@thegazette.canwest.com

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