TEHRAN, 21 May 2004 — A rare trial of an Iranian security services agent, charged with the “semi-intentional” murder of a Canadian journalist, will resume in July after a nine-month delay, a lawyer acting in the case said yesterday. Intelligence Ministry employee Reza Ahmadi pleaded innocent at the trial’s first and only session last October to any involvement in the death of Iranian-born Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody in Tehran last July.
The death of Zahra, 54, a Montreal-based photographer arrested for taking photographs outside Tehran’s Evin prison, strained Iran’s ties with Canada and cast a spotlight on the treatment of detainees in Iran’s prisons. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, one of three lawyers representing the interests of Zahra’s family, said the trial would resume on July 17 after a delay to allow all parties to study the case.
“We wanted to review the case and we have done it. We are ready to fight for the rights of the victim whose arrest and interrogation were irregular,” Dadkhah told Reuters.
Dadkhah, part of a three-strong legal team headed by 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, said there were many unanswered questions regarding the case. “Why was she interrogated after working hours? She was not a criminal so why did a prosecutor go to the prison to question her at night?” he said.
