28 July 2004 -- Iran's hardline Judiciary said that the death of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi while she was in police custody was an accident.
The Judiciary said that because the only suspect in the case was cleared of murder charges on 24 July, the only option for resolving the case is to conclude it was an accidental death.
Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron said the court's ruling has no credibility whatsoever, and that there is much evidence that should have led the court to make a decision in "the opposite direction."
Kazemi was arrested for taking photos outside a Tehran prison. She died of a brain hemorrhage after being interrogated. The Judiciary said that rather than being beaten, Kazemi must have struck her head after collapsing because she was on a hunger strike.
(AFP/Reuters/AP)
Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron said the court's ruling has no credibility whatsoever, and that there is much evidence that should have led the court to make a decision in "the opposite direction."
Kazemi was arrested for taking photos outside a Tehran prison. She died of a brain hemorrhage after being interrogated. The Judiciary said that rather than being beaten, Kazemi must have struck her head after collapsing because she was on a hunger strike.
(AFP/Reuters/AP)