| A Likely Story |
4 August 2003
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Iranian VP Says Journalist Was Probably Murdered
Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in the custody of Iranian authorities on July 10 after being arrested more than 2 weeks before for taking pictures of Evin Prison in Teheran. Her skull was fractured, suffered a brain hemorrhage, and was quickly buried in southern Iran, near her birthplace. Originally, the cause of these injuries was stated as "misadventure", but Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi said on Wednesday of last week that she was probably murdered. One expects the word "probably" to be extraneous.
Iran is not a democratic state in the sense of a western liberal society, but it is not unfair to say that the composition of the government is perceived to be legitimate and responsive by most of the population. At the same time, it retains the xenophobia and fear of sabotage that is the hallmark of institutionalized revolutions. Arresting a photographer for taking pictures of a prison is a symptom of that unhealthiness.
What is laughable is the attempt by the Iranian authorities to cover up the scandal in the ham-fisted way that they did. Not even in Chicago or Glasgow will a judge or jury accept that the beaten and bruised detainee fell down the stairs when the blood is still dripping from the policeman's baton. Apparently, the mullahs think the rest of the world is filled with credulous, gullible idiots. Their hasty burial is in keeping with Islamic custom, but denying the family the right to view the body or have the corpse returned to Canada reeks of conspiracy. Even the pressure brought to bear on her elderly mother to permit burial in Iran was transparent.
Now, there is a conflict at the highest levels of the government over what happened to her. Either the security forces are over-zealous and in need of reform and control or the vice-president of the country has brought them into disrepute with his statements. One wonders if the vice president will meet with an accident over this.