Iran Judiciary Ends Kazemi Trial, Lawyers Cry Foul

Reuters
Sunday, July 18, 2004; 12:25 PM

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's hardline judiciary abruptly ended the trial on Sunday of an intelligence agent accused of killing a Canadian journalist, prompting angry lawyers to complain key evidence had been ignored or covered up.

A verdict is expected in a week or so.

Foreign diplomats and journalists were barred from the third day of the trial of the agent, Mohammad Reza Aqdam, over the death last July of Zahra Kazemi, 54, a photographer of Iranian origin who was detained after taking pictures of a Tehran jail.

Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace laureate, said the judge had ignored testimony that might have incriminated a judiciary official.

The case has damaged Iran's relations with Canada, which announced the withdrawal of its ambassador last week, and turned an international spotlight on Iran's judiciary and prisons.

It has also exposed deep rifts between President Mohammad Khatami's reformist government and the judiciary which is run by his hardline opponents.

"I'm so angry I cannot speak. They didn't even pay attention to our evidence and announced the end of the trial," Ebadi, who was representing Kazemi's family, said outside the Tehran court.

"This is not a fair trial. The case hasn't been reviewed. If they issue a verdict it will be unfair," she added.

Aqdam faces a charge of "semi-intentional murder," which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.

The judiciary initially announced Kazemi had died of a stroke. But a government inquiry showed she received a blow to the head inside Evin prison that cracked her skull and caused a brain hemorrhage. She went into a coma and died in hospital.

"EVIDENCE IGNORED"

Ebadi and Aqdam's lawyers said the court had ignored accounts by witnesses who said Kazemi was hit on the head by a judiciary official shortly after her arrest.

"Aqdam's lawyer identified the real killer but the court doesn't want to pay attention," Ebadi said.

"We will use all legal methods to restore the rights of our client," she said. "We will continue until our last breath."

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman insisted the trial was transparent and warned Canada not to interfere.

"We have to be accountable to Iranian citizens about this case not to a foreign country," said Hamid Reza Asefi.

The trial had resumed on Saturday after a nine-month delay since the opening day. Kazemi's tearful mother accused Iranian officials of torturing her daughter to death.

"There were burns on my daughter's chest, her fingers and nose and toes were broken," Ezzat Kazemi told the court.

Canadian, Dutch, British and French diplomats and foreign media were barred from the court on Sunday, although they had been allowed to attend on Saturday.

Diplomats said the ban would hurt Iran's human rights image.

"This will have a bad impact on the human rights issue," one of the diplomats barred from Sunday's session told Reuters.

"The next time it comes to discussing Iran's human rights situation we will have nothing positive to say."