# Please sign the kazemi pettition!!!



## Canadiancray (Apr 27, 2006)

Please sign this petition at http://www.kazemijustice.ca/en/

















In June 2003, Canadian photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking
pictures of a demonstration in front of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. She
endured three days of interrogations and torture, resulting in injuries that
would prove fatal. A physician that examined Kazemi immediately before her
death said that she showed clear signs of torture including a brutal rape,
missing fingernails, and a skull fracture.

Because of Canadian pressure, an Iranian parliamentary commission
investigated her death and implicated Tehran's Chief Prosecutor, Saeed
Mortazavi, in her death and a subsequent cover-up, including refusal to
allow an independent autopsy, intimidation of witnesses, and falsification
of documents. Mortazavi was never formally charged for his involvement in
Zahra Kazemi's death. Instead, in a move of open defiance, he was sent to
Geneva in June 2006 as part of Iran's delegation to the newly established
United Nations Human Rights Council.

The move was condemned by the Canadian Government, and Prime Minister Harper
reassured the world that "Canada has not dropped this matter". Similarly,
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay promised that "If there is
any way that Canada can bring this person to justice, we'll do it". Despite
these statements, the Government of Canada has not yet indicated its
intention to initiate a criminal investigation against Mortazavi with a view
to pressing charges against him.

This petition calls on the Government of Canada to follow through on its
promises and to bring to justice Saeed Mortazavi for the brutal torture and
murder of a Canadian citizen. Even if Mortazavi cannot be immediately
extradited, Canada should press charges against him as a matter of
principle, ensure that he can never again leave Iran without facing arrest,
and send the message that even if he is in power today, he will one day face
justice for his crimes against international human rights law and the
Canadian Criminal Code.


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