Toronto, Canada.

July 12, 2004

Iranians  gathered in a central park in Toronto, Canada to condemn the Islamic Republic  of Iran for its systematic violation of human rights and freedom. Five years ago in  July  1999 the regime invaded the students’ dormitories  of University of Tehran, demolished the residence, assaulted, injured and arrested the students and killed one.  On Saturday July 10^th 2004 around 1500 Iranians in Toronto gathered to remember the students’ freedom movement. 

The same day was  the remembrance day for Zahra Kazemi the Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist  who was tortured and killed by Islamic regime while in custody. In the afternoon of July 10^th  two students from University of Tehran who  are now students at University of Toronto shared their personal stories of the July 9th, 1999 ( 18 Tir) in Tehran.  Later in the evening people walked to Queen’s Park - the  Ontario Parliament - and had candle vigilance to remember Zahra Kazemi and demanded an open trial for her killers and return of her body to Canada as requested by her family.

At the end, demonstrators demanded the referendum, respect for human rights and  freedom of political prisoners. 

 Report by EJI, Canada.

Following statement was issued by the EJI International Committee coordinators for Canada:

Subject:          On the anniversary of the death of Zahra Kazemi

Date:              July 10, 2004  

Letter to the Editor,

The news was short but tragic!   On July 11, 2003, exactly one year to this date the headlines read: “Canadian dies while in custody.” Who was this Canadian? What was she doing in Iran? And what was her crime?

She was Zahra Kazemi, A Canadian-Iranian free-lance photographer, who was visiting her country.  And her crime was taking pictures of a prison during student led protests.    She was taken into custody late June of 2003.   On July 8th, it was announced that she had gone into coma due to police interrogation.  And then on July 11th, The Islamic Republics official statement said that: “Kazemi suffered a stroke when she was subject to interrogation and died in hospital.” 

Finally on July 16th,  under pressure from the Canadian Government, Iran admitted that she had died due to injuries sustained from beatings to her skull and that “It may have been an accident!!”  And still one year later, all requests by her family and the Canadian Government to have her body flown to Canada have been ignored.

Iran is a country where journalists are arrested, imprisoned and in this case killed just because they are doing their professional responsibilites; Teachers, Professors, Writers, Students face death sentence because they speak out;  lawyers are imprisoned and barred from practicing law because they have taken up cases against the wishes of the authorities;  And yet to our disblief and in the face of all these public disregard for the most basic rights, the western countries forgo a United Nation resolution against Human Rights violations by the Islamic Republic which has incited the latter to hand down yet a new round of unmerited penal rulings against Iranian dissidents.

Please help us keep the memory of Zahra Kazemi alive.  Do not allow another injustice go unpunished.  Please help us save the life of all the Prisoners of Conscience in Iran.

Ettehad Jomhourikhahan Iran –

The Unity for a secular and democratic Republic in Iran

Canada -  Coordinator for International Affairs

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Last modified: July 17, 2004