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Montreal, September 11,
2003
Mr. Jean Chrétien
Canadian Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
80
Wellington St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Mr. Bill Graham
Foreign Affairs Minister
Lester B. Pearson Building, « A » tower, 10th floor
125 Sussex
Drive
Ottawa,
Ontario
K1A 0G2
Mr. Martin Cauchon
Justice
Minister and Attorney General of Canada
East
Commemmorative Building
284
Wellington St.
Ottawa,
Ontario
K1A 0H8
Mr. Denis Coderre
Citizenship
and Immigration Minister
365 Laurier
Ave. West, South Tower Jean edmonds, 21st floor
Ottawa,
OntarioK1A 1L1
Dossier :
Zahra (Ziba) Kazemi
Subject :
Request for immediate action by the Canadian government
The murder
of Canadian photojournalist Zahra (Ziba) Kazemi, on July 10th, 2003,
following her detention by Iranian authorities, has outraged human
rights activists and journalists in Canada and around the world. We
recognize by your interventions thus far that the Canadian government is
also concerned by this case.
Considering
the number of human rights abuses committed against the photojournalist,
we, the undersigned, request the Canadian government to act promptly to
ensure those responsible for Ms. Kazemi’s death do not benfit from
impunity and that her body is repatriated to Canada as to her family’s
wishes.
With the
lack of transparency and independence of the Iranian investigation into
Ms. Kazemi’s death, Iran’s refusal to publish the final investigation
report, the backroom bargaining within Iranian ministries as to
identifying those responsible for Ms. Kazemi’s death, the futile arrests,
accusations and ultimate release of lower ranking public officers in the
case, the attempt to dissimulate evidence by the rapid inhumation of the
victim’s body, the non-repatriation of the body to Canada as requested
by our government and her family as well as the intimidation of
witnesses in Iran, combined with the slow nature of Canada’s diplomatic
efforts and the refusal of the Iranian officials to collaborate with
Canada leads we, the undersigned, along with Zahra Kazemi‘s son, Stephan
Hachemi, to request the Canadian government launch its own
investigation.
More
precisely, we are asking the Attorney General, Martin Cauchon, to order
an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Zahra (Ziba)
Kazemi in accordance with articles 7 (3.7) and 269.1 of the Criminal
Code, L.R.C. (1985), ch. C-46 and articles 6,7,8,9, and 12 of the Law on
Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes, Canadian Law (L.C.) 2000,
chapter 24.
We are also
requesting the Canadian government to recognize the necessity of an
international investigation into the case and to start the procedures
towards said investigation. This can be done by officially presenting
the dossier to the United Nations, so it may lead an investigation in
conformity with Procedure 1503 of the Human Rights Commission of the
United Nations.
At the same
time we are asking the Canadian government to quickly :
1)
submit to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) a difference of
opinion with the Islamic Republic of Iran so the ICJ can judge if the
Vienna Convention of Consular Relations (from April 24, 1963, UN No.
8638) was applicable in Ms. Kazemi’s dossier and whether or not Iran
violated its obligations of said Convention, more specifically the
obligations of articles 5 a) and e) and 36 (1);
2)
lodge a complaint against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
to the Work Group on Arbitrary Detention according to Resolution 1991/42
of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations;
3)
file a paper with the Special Reporter on the Question of Torture in
accordance with Resolution 1985/33 with the United Nations Human Rights
Commission
4)
file a paper with the Special Reporter for Freedom of Expression in
accordance with Resolution 1993/45 with the United Nations Human Rights
Commission.
5)
file a paper with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on
the situation of human rights defenders in accordance with Resolution
2000/51 of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
Please note
that the family of Zahra Kazemi, witnesses, as well as the undersigned,
would be pleased to meet with you in order to verify and corroborate the
information found in the attached document « Affaire Kazemi : Requetes
au gouvernement du Canada ».
We are
confident that you will be in agreement with these requests and will
undertake the necessary steps to fulfil them. We would like to meet
with you in the coming weeks to learn more about your actions.
Thank you
for consideration of our requests and we’re looking forward to hearing
back from you in regards to our request for a meeting.
Sincerely,
Stephan Hachemi
Zahra (Ziba) Kazemi’s son
In alphabetic order
Arnold Amber,
President,
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Tanya Churchmuch
President,
Reporters Without Borders Canada
Catherine Duhamel
Direction,
International Judicial Resources Centre
Anne-Marie Dussault
President,
Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec
Michel Frenette
Director
General, Amnesty International Canada, Francophone section
Nicole Fillion
President,
Ligue des droits et libertés
Robert Letendre
Director
General, Peace and Development
Hossein Mahoutiha*
Coordinator,
Association de la défense des droits de l’homme d’Iran-Montreal
David Matas
Administration Council Member, Canadian Centre for International Justice
Robert Ménard
Secretary
General, Reporters Without Borders
Spencer Moore
Chair, NPC
Press Freedom Committee, National Press Club
Alex Neve
Secretary
General, Amnesty International Canada, English speaking branch
Haroon Siddiqui
President,
PEN Canada
Jean-Louis Roy
President,
Rights and Democracy
Eric Sottas
Director,
World Organization Against Torture
Paul Schneidereit
President,
Canadian Association of Journalists
*Hossein
Mahoutiha is also the coordinator of the following Iranian Human Rights
associations in Iran, Europe and Canada : Centre for Thought, Dialogue
and Human Rights in Iran, Toronto, Canada; Vereinigung zur Verteidigung
der Menschenrechte im Iran, Bremen, Deutschland; Stichting voor de
Verdediging van Democratie in Iran, Nederland; Iranian-Canadian
Community Association of Western Canada, Vancouver; Noran (supporting
committee for human rights in Iran) Norway.
info@addhi.com or
rsfcanada@rsf.org
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