Ali Younesi: The Ministry of Intelligence Cleared of Zahra Kazemi's Murder Charges by Leader's Arbitration

Former Iranian Minister of Intelligence Ali Younesi stated that the accusation against Ministry of Intelligence agents for the murder of Zahra Kazemi had created a "crisis" within the ministry, but they were exonerated from this accusation through the "arbitration" of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In an interview with ILNA news agency published on Tuesday, March 5, he mentioned that the insistence of Saeed Mortazavi, the then Tehran prosecutor, to "portray" the Ministry of Intelligence agents as guilty, caused a "crisis" within the ministry. He noted that ultimately, the review by three "high-ranking judges" put an end to these "ambiguities." Younesi emphasized, "We proposed arbitration to the Leader to clarify the ambiguities, and he agreed to this proposal. The appointed judges conducted sufficient investigations and ultimately provided a report exonerating the Ministry of Intelligence from the accusation that Mortazavi insisted on, and the ministry was cleared." According to a report from the Sixth Majlis's Article 90 Commission on Zahra Kazemi's death, the police reported that "Zahra Kazemi wrote in her own handwriting" that Ministry of Intelligence agents "broke my nose, thumb, and toe." According to officials from Mohammad Khatami's government and lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh, two Ministry of Intelligence agents who were accused by the prosecutor of involvement in Zahra Kazemi's murder were ultimately exonerated. Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and photographer, was arrested in 2003 outside Evin Prison and died shortly after. Her death severely strained relations between Canada and Iran. In a conversation with the Iran newspaper on Sunday, March 5, Younesi mentioned that two counter-intelligence experts from the Ministry of Intelligence had stated during the interrogation of Zahra Kazemi in a hotel that the journalist "is not a spy technically and scientifically." He added that despite this, Saeed Mortazavi insisted that Zahra Kazemi "is a spy" and took the case from the Ministry of Intelligence, handing it over to the police's intelligence. However, Younesi stated in his remarks on Tuesday that "none of the judicial officials at the time were accused of direct involvement in the murder." He said that "the case has apparently been handled judicially in some way." Younesi's remarks came as Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, stated on Sunday, March 5, that the accusations against Saeed Mortazavi in this case "will be addressed." Three days prior to these statements, however, Gholamhossein Esmaili, the head of the Tehran judiciary, made contradictory statements to the Tehran prosecutor, stating that the case of Zahra Kazemi's death had been closed and "is not subject to further investigation." Younesi stated in his interview with the Iran newspaper: "It seems that Zahra Kazemi was beaten during the process of inspection, handing over belongings, and transfer to the detention center, and not during interrogation, due to her resistance to handing over her belongings, and her head hit the sidewalk, leading to her brain hemorrhage." Following Younesi's remarks, the Justice for Iran organization published on Sunday the testimony of Dr. Shahram Azam, a physician at Baqiyatallah Hospital, stating that Zahra Kazemi "was tortured for several days in prison." The Sixth Majlis's Article 90 Commission also noted in its report on Zahra Kazemi's death that at one stage, while taking Ms. Kazemi's backpack, she refused to hand it over, during which a severe blow was struck to the left side of her face, and "medical records confirm the injuries."