Posted on 07/11/2003 7:12:52 AM PDT by Loyalist
Zahra Kazemi, a Montreal-based photojournalist arrested in Iran and allegedly beaten by police interrogators, has been declared brain-dead.
Doctors in Tehran told Canadian consular officials yesterday that Ms. Kazemi has all but succumbed to the brain hemorrhage she mysteriously suffered while in the custody of Iranian authorities.
The news that his mother will never again wake up came as a harsh blow to Ms. Kazemi's son, who has barely slept since learning of her arrest on Monday.
''The words brain-dead, they talk for themselves,'' Stephan Hachemi said yesterday from his home in Montreal. ''She's in a terrible state.''
The news came as the federal government convened a meeting with Seyed Mohammad Ali Mousavi, Iran's ambassador to Canada, in an attempt to find out how Ms. Kazemi lapsed into a coma.
The 54-year-old, a Canadian citizen who was born in Iran and emigrated to Quebec, was arrested on or around June 23 after authorities accused her of spying.
At the time, she was snapping photos of Evin prison in northern Tehran, where hundreds of students were taken last month following a wave of protests.
Her friends and family said she was simply doing her job. The Iranian government said it was espionage.
Two days after her arrest, Ms. Kazemi -- bruised and unconscious -- was transported from a jail cell to a hospital.
How she ended up there remains a mystery. Canadian consular officials in Iran have visited her daily since Tuesday, but they were allowed to view her only from behind a plate-glass window.
During yesterday's meeting with Mr. Mousavi, Peter Harder, Canada's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, asked for permission to send an independent doctor to assess Ms. Kazemi's health. Officials are in the process of trying to find a neurologist who can head to the area as soon as Iran gives the green light.
Mr. Harder also reiterated an earlier request for a full explanation of what happened.
Ottawa hopes to receive at least part of that explanation tomorrow, when Peter MacKinnon, Canada's ambassador to Iran, meets with officials in Tehran.
''We do not want to conclude that she was beaten up,'' said Reynald Doiron, a Foreign Affairs spokesman. ''The official reply by the Iranians as well as a full, unrestricted medical examination of her situation will determine the cause. Is it a blood clot, is it high blood pressure, lack of taking medication? Or has she been roughed up a bit? We don't know.''
Ms. Kazemi's family is convinced that the latter is true.
''We don't need to say she's been beaten,'' said Mr. Hachemi, 26. ''It is obvious.''
Ms. Kazemi, a freelance photographer who also writes articles, left Canada for Iraq after the end of the U.S.-led invasion. The editor of Recto Verso, a Montreal magazine that has published her work, said she was researching data on pollutants, such as depleted uranium, that may have drifted into the country as a result of the war.
Colleagues describe her as a politically committed journalist, interested in human rights and, in particular, the rights of women.
She has spent the better part of the past decade travelling the world with her camera, reporting from such places as Israel, Jordan, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. She had planned to travel to North Korea this year.
Despite her condition, Ms. Kazemi's family is still holding out the faint hope she will one day get to make that trip.
But for now, Mr. Hachemi said he just wants to have his mother returned to Canada.
''She has little chance, but we have to keep trying,'' he said. ''I don't lose hope. Everything is possible.''
mfriscolanti@nationalpost.com
© Copyright 2003 National Post
Mysteriously suffered. Uh Huh.
|
|
|
 > |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Nice liberal agenda. Trying to protect these poor muslims from the evil imperialist Americans. Sounds like she found out the hard way what my Grandfather taught me, "When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."
And yet, she died because she was trying to report on a prison holding political prisoners, not because she was sucking up to anti-American forces. Don't make her out to be a bad guy.
If you can't find a single Canadian who doesn't understand what Iraq and Afghanistan and 9/11 were (are) all about, you certainly haven't read any of my posts or the posts of dozens of other Canadians on FR. I think Canadians who dump on the US are stupid and delusional. Jealousy and insecurity are the main causes, boorishness has nothing to do with it.
In about six months there will be a new government in Canada. The new prime minister, Paul Martin, was born in my home town, about three miles from downtown Detroit. He is a businessman, and although he can't say much right now, he does not share the anti-American antagonism of his predecessor. The people in power in Washington know this and they are just waiting for him to assume power. I predict that one of his first acts will be to contact President Bush and see if he can spend some time on the ranch to iron out some problems between the two countries.
I don't really care if people want to write "insensitive" posts. My sensibilities were not aroused. I just think they are beneath the usual high level of comment on FR. This woman is a free lance journalist, Iranian ex-pat who came to Canada looking for freedom. She went back to he home country and was basically killed when she tried to expose some of the excesses of the mullah's. She was on our side.
Unlike the other English speaking nations, Canada has comepletely shirked its duty regarding the war on terror. Like I said, this will change in a few months. There are other developements taking place in Canada that point to much better relations with the US in the near future. I will try and post the article later today, when I get a chance, and I will ping you.
Yes, the war on islamo-nazis will be a thankless job but I thank the US for taking it on. Should have happened years ago but you were without competent leadership for the eight years before W took office.
Dont sell yourself short. Canadian troops fought and died in Afghanistan.
Yes, she was fighting against theocratic fascism. And you don't think that's a laudable thing? Or is she just some dumb broad who stuck her nose where it didn't belong, because she's a liberal and not a conservative?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.