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Women’s Forum Against
Fundamentalism in
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July
10, 2004
Public
Statement
Remembering Zahra Kazemi, the Iranian-Canadian Photo Journalist Killed by the
Fundamentalist Regime of Iran
Boston, MA- On July 10,
2003 the
Iranian-Canadian Photo Journalist Zahra Kazemi died
as a result of severe blow to the head, according to the doctors, after her
arrest in Iran on June 23. She was arrested,
reportedly raped, and tortured for taking pictures of a demonstration of the
families of the political prisoners at the notorious Evin
prison in Tehran.
Stephan Hachemi
- Kazemi's only son in Montreal, pressed the Canadian government to
get her body home for autopsy, however, the Iranian regime ordered her burial
five days after her death to avoid autopsy.
The Canadian Foreign Affairs
Minister Bill Graham called Kazemi's treatment " a flagrant violation of her rights under
international human rights law and a breach of obligations that Iran owes to the international
community."
Through International pressure,
especially from the government of Canada and human rights organizations, the
Iranian officials arrested two Intelligence Ministry agents and charged them
with the murder. One agent was acquitted soon after and the other charged with
“quasi intentional murder” which carries a sentence of 3 years and payment of
money to Kazemi’s family.
The Women's Forum Against
Fundamentalism (WFAFI) honors the memory of Zahra Kazemi
and reminds the world community of the on-going inhumane treatments in Iran's prisons. The case is one of
thousands of flagrant human rights violations by the fundamentalist regime in Iran, but it was Ms. Kazemi’s
Canadian status that led to the international outcry. The Canadian government
responded responsibly and sponsored a resolution against the Iranian regime in
the UN General Assembly last fall.
WFAFI calls upon all human rights
organizations, along with the relevant UN bodies and the Canadian government to
support Ms. Kazemi's family and their quest for
justice in this case. Zahra Kazemi should not be
forgotten. Therefore, we urge the international community, particularly the
European Union, US and Canada to condemn the on-going human rights violations
in Iran and hold Tehran's regime responsible for its crimes.
###
WFAFI
P.O.Box 15205, Boston, MA 02215
Tel: (617) 590-1665
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