Iran inquiry finds Canadian photographer died after beating

The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian-Canadian journalist died from a fractured skull caused by a beating, an inquiry conducted by five Cabinet ministers has concluded, Iran's official news agency said Sunday.

Zahra Kazemi, 54, died in hospital on July 11, nearly three weeks after she was arrested for taking photographs outside a Tehran prison. She was never formally charged with any crime.

Authorities initially said she died of a stroke.

President Mohammad Khatami called for an inquiry after Kazemi's family and friends alleged she was beaten to death by security agents.

Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency reported late Sunday that the inquiry -- headed by five government ministers -- found that Kazemi "died from (a) physical attack." It quoted the inquiry's findings as saying Kazemi died from a brain hemorrhage caused by a "break in her skull."

The IRNA report did not say who attacked Kazemi or where the attack occurred.

Earlier Sunday, a prominent reformist lawmaker became the highest-ranking official to assert that government agents beat Kazemi to death.

The lawmaker, Mohsen Armin, called for the ouster of Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi and other hard-liners whom he blamed for Kazemi's death.

Armin said Kazemi told police interrogators she was beaten following her June 23 arrest. The legislator did not disclose the source of his information.

"Instead of respecting the dignity of journalists and observing the country's prestige and punishing agents who beat her, Mortazavi ordered that Kazemi remain in detention," he said in a session of parliament.

Separately, Canada's ambassador to Iran asked the government to return Kazemi's body to Montreal, where she lived. Her son and the group Reporters Without Borders want her body returned to Canada for burial and an investigation into the cause of her death.