Zahra Kazemi
Year: 2003
Nationality:
Killed by: Government Officials
Location: Tehran, Iran
Press organization: freelance
What's Zahra Kazemi's story?
Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, died in Tehran’s Baghiatollah Hospital after being transferred from government custody. Kazemi, a contributor to the Montreal-based magazine Recto Verso and the London-based photo agency Camera Press, was detained on June 23 while taking photographs of the families of detainees outside Tehran’s Evin Prison. She was held for nearly two weeks before being transferred to the hospital in a coma.During subsequent weeks, officials tried to cover up the circumstances of Kazemi’s death. Initially, Iranian officials maintained that the journalist had died of a stroke, and that she had complained of poor health while she was detained. On July 16, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi announced that Kazemi had died from a "brain hemorrhage resulting from beatings." Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi later backed away from the statement, saying the journalist may have died from an "accident." A government inquiry released in late July 2003 concluded that Kazemi died as a result of a skull fracture likely caused by a blow to her head.
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