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Iranian Doctor defects - Zahra Kazemi murder case
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Rasker



Joined: 03 Feb 2005
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It might be interesting to get pictures of those mansions, and the names of the owners, and see who in the regime they might be connected to!
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rasker wrote:
It might be interesting to get pictures of those mansions, and the names of the owners, and see who in the regime they might be connected to!


You will be surprise they're all "somehow" related to the ragheads.......
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cyrus
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 1:55 pm    Post subject: Don't let Kazemi case slip away Reply with quote

Don't let Kazemi case slip away
Source: http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/London/Alex_Yazdani/2005/04/18/1001816.html

2005-04-18
Alex Yazdani, London Free Press


If Zahra Kazemi hadn't been Canadian, no one in Canada would know or care that she was arrested and killed under suspicious circumstances in Iran nearly two years ago. It wouldn't be news of any importance to Canadians if she weren't one of us.

Since she was Canadian, we do care, because when one of our own is picked on or mistreated, we stand up for them and make a fuss about it until the situation is remedied. Or at least we try.

There are two major reasons why Canadian intervention is limited. First, Kazemi was a dual Iranian-Canadian citizen, meaning that there are supposedly limits to what Canadian officials can do or claim. Second, we're talking about Iran -- a country that is not innocent of arresting, beating and killing its citizens for what Canadians would not consider crimes.

Canadians can stand up and boot out their government. We can cry foul when corruption is unveiled and we can protest for change. And our press has the freedom to print the truth, including stories that our government would rather us not print.

According to the CBC, two Iranian reformist newspapers were shut down just prior to the trial of the security guard who was eventually acquitted of killing Kazemi. But then, keeping the liberal press in operation has never been easy for Iranian journalists.

What should the Canadian government do, then? What could possibly convince Iranian officials that handing over Kazemi's body to her Canadian son and that a proper investigation into her death -- with truthful findings reported -- is the right thing to do? It's a good question. Some would argue that there are bigger Iranian problems to tackle first, such as the nuclear arms question.

Canada had recalled its ambassador to Iran but eventually returned him. Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said that withdrawing the ambassador had proven fruitless. "We need to articulate our case in Iran at the highest level and very strongly," he said.

Pettigrew also said that Canada denounced Iran at the United Nations at every opportunity (whatever that means) and said, "We have raised the bigger problem of human rights to the United Nations general assembly and Iran is still not complying." He also said the Canadian government has pushed Iranian authorities for a legitimate trial.

The federal government did cancel its support for a conference last week promoting agricultural exports to Iran, but has so far rejected criticism that Canada should impose sanctions on Iran.

The bottom line is that Iran can't really be pressured into carrying out what Canadians want for the Kazemi case. So far, our tactics haven't worked and Canada doesn't carry enough clout to strongarm Iran into doing what we want.

I don't think there is any question that Canadians -- the general public and those who serve in government -- want to see justice done. But the question is how far the government is willing to go to force the issue. Realistically, no other ally will join its crusade --because it is a Canadian problem.

I wish I had a brilliant solution that no other politician or concerned party had come up with, but I don't. In fact, I'm not sure anything short of a revolution that overturns the theocratic government will change the climate of persecution that has been put on Iran's citizens.

I'm not advocating a revolution, though. I realize how easy it is for an outsider to claim to know what is best for another country and its citizens -- just look at Iraq.

What I am advocating is for the Canadian government to be pushy -- that it should not back down on its demands. If we have a supposed track record of coming up with out-of-the-box solutions to international crisis (OK, maybe we are resting on Lester B. Pearson's laurels a bit on this claim) then wouldn't now be a good time to put our creative thinking to the test?
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blank



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PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All Canadian government needs to do is to mention "freezing of their assets", that will do the trick. Ragheads can not let go of their money...
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BitWhys



Joined: 11 Mar 2005
Posts: 164
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 12:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

blank wrote:
All Canadian government needs to do is to mention "freezing of their assets", that will do the trick. Ragheads can not let go of their money...


well

I'm not sure our current government has the guts to say that although there ARE laws pertaining to terrorism that may come in handy.

There's a lot going on in Parliament right now, not the least of which is whether there's going to BE a Parliament in place when the mullah roll out their latest set of official excuses next month.

What I want to know is what the hell we've still got an ambassador there for. He better not be cutting deals in the meantime but Pettigrew is coming off as such a skank in all this it wouldn't surprise me.
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Khorshid



Joined: 28 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 2:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was reading an article by one of our compatriots about BBC’s coverage of Ziba Kazemi’s murder by Khatami’s thugs. Apparently, a few days after Dr. Shahram Azam’s defection they had a program in which they interviewed an Iranian and an Islamic Republican about her death. The Iranian naturally said that all evidence points to torture and murder. The BBC followed this with the Islamic Republican insisting that she was neither tortured nor murdered. At the end of the interview Ayatollah BBC made the observation that: “Well, given these conflicting views, we still don’t know for certain whether Kazemi was tortured!”

Michael Ledeen recently described the BBC as a “propaganda network.” Had he asked any Iranians, he would have been informed of the fact 27 years ago.

.
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cyrus
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PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2005 10:07 am    Post subject: Back off on Kazemi, Mullahs tells CanadaSlain journalist's Reply with quote

Back off on Kazemi, Mullahs tells CanadaSlain journalist's Canadian

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050523/KAZEMI23/TPBusiness/Canadian

citizenship irrelevant to the case, Tehran assertsBy CAMPBELL CLARK

Monday, May 23, 2005 Page A1

With reports from Reuters, AP, and AFP

OTTAWA -- Iran told Canada to back off yesterday over the case of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in Iranian custody, criticizing the Canadian government's "immaturity" and warning it to stop interfering in the case.

Spokesmen for both Iran's foreign ministry and its judiciary took shots at Canada over the weekend, and indicated that Ms. Kazemi's Canadian citizenship was irrelevant to them.

"I am amazed by [Canada's] immaturity. This lady was an Iranian citizen and this case is a domestic affair," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said yesterday.

"Canada's current attitude towards Iran will not lead to anything. Pressuring Iran in these kinds of affairs will not bring about any solutions."


The escalation in the diplomatic war led Canada to restate its demand for a new investigation in the case.

Canada insists Ms. Kazemi was murdered, and announced last week it would restrict its diplomatic ties with Iran because of the case.

"We continue to demand an investigation in this case," Foreign Affairs spokesman Cloé Rodrigue said.

But the Iranian government statements drew new criticism of both Iran and Canada's Foreign Affairs department from Stephan Hashemi, Ms. Kazemi's son.

"I demand that the government not wait any longer and take immediate measures against the government of Iran," he said. "Two years are enough. Two years of insult to Canada."

Mr. Hashemi said that Ottawa opened the door to such statements by trying to engage in a dialogue with a regime that has proved complicit in the affair, rather than taking more direct action against Iran.

Instead of spending two years hoping that an Iranian government that has covered up the killing and the involvement of their own officials might deliver justice, Canada should take more direct action, he said. It should take the case to an international court, allow the Kazemi family to sue Iran and take international political action against the Iranian regime, he said.

"The Canadian government has for two years been drawn into the Iranian government's schemes. They played their game. They fell into their diversions," Mr. Hashemi said. "They are inviting the Iranian government to designate the guilty, when the guilty are clearly the Iranian government."

Mr. Hashemi has officially changed the spelling of his last name.

Ms. Kazemi died in July 2003 while in Iranian custody, after she was arrested for taking photos outside a Tehran prison where many dissidents are held.

Iranian officials initially said that she had suffered a stroke, and later that she had fallen and hit her head. An Iranian presidential commission found she died of a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage.

A doctor who treated her, who has since fled the country and was recently granted asylum in Canada, Shahram Azam, said she appeared to have been tortured and raped.

Another doctor who treated her, Hadi Sepherlou, was reportedly arrested last week by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, said last week that Canada was restricting its relations with Iran to the Kazemi case, Iran's human-rights record and its record on nuclear non-proliferation.

That move came after a court abruptly adjourned when a Kazemi family lawyer in Iran asked for a new investigation.

"Yesterday's events illustrate once again that the Iranian justice system has neither the capacity nor the will to confront the perpetrators of the brutal murder of Zahra Kazemi," Mr. Pettigrew said.

Yesterday's counter-fire from the Iranian foreign ministry was not an isolated attack, as a spokesman for the country's judiciary also took Canada to task on Saturday.

"The Canadian government has to wait for a final investigation into the case [in July] before it starts criticizing," judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimirad told reporters in Tehran.

Marlys Edwardh, a lawyer representing Ms. Kazemi's family, scoffed at Iran's call for patience, and said the remarks amount to an assertion that they are not accountable to Canada for the death of a Canadian citizen in Iranian government custody.

"We've waited. They've lied to us. We've waited some more," she said. "We've asked for a whole range of things which in the civilized world would be granted. I think Canada's patience has gone on for far too long."

Ms. Kazemi, who was 54 when she died, was born in Iran but lived her adult life in Canada, and held Canadian citizenship. But Iranian officials have continued to call the case a "domestic" or "local" matter.

"The reason they say it's a local issue is because they have refused on many occasions to acknowledge dual nationality," Ms. Edwardh said.

"All that is is a big smokescreen to say they have no accountability in the international forum or to Canada."
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cyrus
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:57 pm    Post subject: Canada threatens Iran with UN action on rights record Reply with quote

Canada threatens Iran with UN action on rights record
17 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050805/wl_mideast_afp/canadairannuclear_050805222401


OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada threatened to introduce a UN resolution on Iran's human rights record as it called on the Islamic republic's new government to improve its human rights record and change its position on nuclear proliferation.

Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew urged new Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad to "usher in an era of change" to repair relations hurt by the killing of a Canadian journalist in Tehran.

"As no real improvement in Iran's human rights conditions has been noted to date, consultations have begun between Canada and its like-minded partners regarding a possible new resolution on Iran's human rights situation before the UN General Assembly in the fall of 2005," Pettigrew said in a statement.

Earlier, Iran rejected a European Union demand for it to abandon making nuclear fuel with possible weapons use, in return for trade, technology and security incentives.

"Only meaningful change by President Ahmadinejad's new government on Iran's position on human rights and nuclear proliferation can lead to an improvement in our relationship," Pettigrew said, during Iran to continue negotiations with Europeans.

In May, Pettigrew said Canada had decided to "constrain" its relations with Iran until Iranian authorities handle the case of the Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi "in a serious and credible manner."

Kazemi, who was 54, died in custody in Tehran in July 2003 after being arrested for photographing a demonstration outside a Tehran prison. Family lawyers have accused the judiciary of a cover-up, a charge backed by Ottawa.

Iran's government has acknowledged that Kazemi was violently beaten in prison, although the judiciary has also said she may have died after a fall.

Pettigrew on Friday also demanded the "immediate release" of Abdolfattah Soltani, a Kazemi family lawyer arrested after a court hearing on July 25.

Canada also condemned the jailing of dissident journalist Akbar Ganji, the recent hanging of two teenagers and the persecution of minorities, including members of the Baha'i faith.

"We are extremely concerned over the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran," Pettigrew said.
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cyrus
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:40 pm    Post subject: PM calls for arrest of Iran's chief prosecutor Reply with quote

Kazemi Petition By ActivistChat on Thursday July 24, 2003: Expel Islamic Clerical Regime of Iran from The UN For Killing a Canadian Photojournalist

Sign the Petition-
View Current Signatures


________________________________________________

PM calls for arrest of Iran's chief prosecutor
Updated Fri. Jun. 23 2006 8:22 AM ET



Canadian Press

GENEVA -- Canada is condemning the presence of Iran's hardline prosecutor on the Iranian observer delegation to the new UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going one step further.
Harper has demanded Saeed Mortazavi be arrested before he leaves Germany.
On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay issued a statement "deploring" the addition of Mortazavi to the delegation.
He says the move demonstrates the Iranian government's complete contempt for human rights.
MacKay says two Iranian government investigations found Mortazavi ordered the illegal arrest and detention of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, which led to her torture and death.
He says Mortazavi then falsified documents to cover up his involvement in her case.
MacKay says Mortazavi has also been involved in a harsh crackdown on the Iranian press.
___________________________________________________

Canada calls for arrest of Iranian at human rights conference
Last Updated Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:08:06 EDT
CBC News
The clamour for action against an Iranian official implicated in the murder of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi is growing.

Iranian prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi outraged critics with a surprise appearance at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. (Keystone/ Martial Trezzini/Associated Press) Saeed Mortazavi is Iran's prosecutor general. In 2003, Mortazavi ordered the detention and interrogation of Kazemi, who was tortured and later died of her injuries.

This week, Mortazavi resurfaced as part of Iran's official delegation to the inaugural meetings of the new UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Iran can't even get into the new human rights club, since it failed to win election to the council. It decided to show up anyway, and sent a team of observers to the council's first meetings in Switzerland.

George Gordon-Lennox of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders was shocked to see Mortazavi. His role, said Gordon-Lennox, has been "putting journalists in prison."

But there are also accusations of torture, and in the case of Kahzemi, involvement in both her murder and the subsequent coverup.

"What it says to us about the council is that the council is not getting off to quite as good a start as anyone would hope," said Gordon-Lennox.

Iranian exile Hamid Rezah Eshagee was appalled at the inclusion of Mortazavi in the delegation, calling it "a humiliation, a provocation and an act of defiance" on the part of Iran toward the council and also Canada.

Eshagee is calling for Mortazavi's arrest, in spite of diplomatic immunity, but that is unlikely to happen.

Mortazavi ordered the arrest of Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi (shown in an undated file photo), who later died in Iranian custody. Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in a news release that he is disgusted by Iran's action.

"The presence of Mr. Mortazavi in Iran's delegation demonstrates the government of Iran's complete contempt for internationally recognized principles of human rights," he said.

The Canadian government has also demanded Mortazavi's arrest.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki, for his part, hurled accusations of abuse right back at the accusers, especially the United States, whose prisoners are "tortured in solitary confinements for interrogation such as prisons in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib."

This week marks the third anniversary of Kazemi's arrest.

_____________________________________________________

Canada disgusted by Iran's UN rights delegate
Wed Jun 21, 3:19 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060621/wl_canada_nm/canada_iran_col_1

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada expressed "disgust" on Wednesday at Iran's decision to send Tehran's chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, as a delegate to the new United Nations human rights council, saying he was implicated in the death of a Canadian photographer.

"The presence of Mr. Mortazavi in Iran's delegation demonstrates the government of Iran's complete contempt for internationally recognized principles of human rights," Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement.

"The government of Canada expresses its disgust at the fact that Iran would choose to include such a person in its delegation to a new U.N. body intended to promote the highest standards of respect for human rights."

Canada's relations with Iran have been frosty since 2003, when photographer Zahra Kazemi -- who held dual Canadian and Iranian citizenship -- died in detention after being arrested outside a Tehran prison.

MacKay said two official Iranian government investigations had found that Mortazavi ordered the arrest of Kazemi and then falsified documents to cover up his involvement in her case.

He also said Mortazavi had "been involved in the harsh clampdown on the Iranian press and the arrests of many Iranian journalists."

MacKay was present when the new council started work in Geneva this week and said Canada had called on other delegations to condemn Mortazavi's presence.


_____________________________________________________

Canada outraged by Iran's UN rights delegate

Thursday, June 22, 2006
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=43838&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

LONDON, June 22 (IranMania) - Canada strongly condemned the presence of a Tehran prosecutor who has been implicated in the death of an Iranian-Canadian journalist, at a meeting of the new UN Human Rights Council, AFP reported.

Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said that the inclusion of Said Mortazavi in the Iranian delegation "demonstrates the government of Iran's complete contempt for internationally recognized principles of human rights."

He added in a statement that "the government of Canada expresses its disgust at the fact that Iran would choose to include such a person in its delegation to a new UN body intended to promote the highest standards of respect for human rights."

Mackay said "Iran is trying to discredit the Council and deflect attention from the Council's goal of ensuring greater respect for human rights."

The statement highlighted that two official Iranian government investigations have found that Mortazavi, a prosecutor general, "ordered the illegal arrest and detention of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, which led to her torture and death. He then falsified documents to cover up his involvement in her case."

"Mr Mortazavi has also been involved in the harsh clampdown on the Iranian press and the arrests of many Iranian journalists," the statement went on.

The Council began its inaugural two-week session in Geneva on Monday, and UN officials confirmed that Mortazavi was indeed a delegation member.

Iran ran for representation on the UN Human Rights Council but did not get the necessary number of votes.

Iranian human rights advocates, including the lawyer and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, have accused Mortazavi of being present in July 2003 when Kazemi received a fatal blow to the head.

Zahra Kazemi, who was 54, died in custody in Tehran after being arrested for photographing a demonstration outside a prison in the Iranian capital. Family lawyers have accused the judiciary of a cover-up, a charge backed by Canada.

Iran's former reformist government had acknowledged that Kazemi was violently beaten in custody, but the judiciary had initially claimed she died of a stroke and went on to say she may have been injured in a fall.

The affair has badly damaged Iran's relations with Canada.

"Canada is committed to making the UN Human Rights Council a respected and effective body that will encourage improved human rights performance by all UN member states," the foreign minister said.

"Canada has shared its assessment of the government of Iran's involvement in the killing of Zahra Kazemi and the role of Mr. Mortazavi in that case with the president of the council, representatives of the host government Switzerland and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights."

Mackay said Canada also wanted other governments to "condemn" the presence of Mortazavi on the Iranian delegation.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To Candaidan Government:

Words such as "angry", "outraged", "disgusted", means absolutely nothing to IRI..... if you are really honest & want to do something, freeze these bastards assets in Canda.


Last edited by blank on Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
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cyrus
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

blank wrote:
To Candaidan Government:

Words such as "angry", "outraged", "disgusted", means absolutely nothing to IRI..... if you are really honest & want to do something, freeze these bastards assets in Canda.

Excellent point.
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Joined: 26 Feb 2004
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is Canadian Prime Minister's website, everyone please write and ask him to freeze IRI assets.

www.pm.gc.ca
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