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.