Iran's Nobel laureate and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi yesterday renewed her accusation that top officials in Iran's hard-line judiciary had covered up the murder in custody of Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi. A statement from the Nobel Peace Prize-winner and her team of lawyers who are representing Kazemi's enraged family also urged the head of the Islamic republic's judiciary to allow an independent probe into the controversial case.
The statement came after the judiciary claimed Kazemi's death last July may have been an accident and not due to a beating. "We are insisting that the head of the judiciary appoint a special independent inquirer who is outside the supervision of the prosecution," it said. "There is proof, including the statements of a number of witnesses present at the scene, saying a high-ranking official in Evin prison gave Zahra Kazemi a very strong punch to the left side of her head, breaking her skull," it added. "Why did the judiciary not welcome this suggestion? What we want to know is why some people want to cover it up," demanded Ebadi and her team. "Why was the identity of the interrogator from 22:30 on 23 June to 0230 on June 24 concealed?" it asked. "Based on the papers in the case, the interrogation was conducted in the presence of Tehran's public prosecutor and one of his deputies," it added. |