Tehran Prosecutor: The Charges Against Saeed Mortazavi in the Zahra Kazemi Case Are Under Review

Following recent revelations regarding the Zahra Kazemi case and the renewed emphasis on Saeed Mortazavi's role in it, the current Tehran prosecutor states that Mortazavi's case is still open. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, announced on Sunday, March 4, that 'the charges against the former Tehran prosecutor in the Zahra Kazemi case will be addressed in the Tehran Criminal Court.' He emphasized that 'the handling of this case is unrelated to the statements of the former Minister of Intelligence.' He also added that 'we believe that obtaining opinions from other security institutions will be beneficial for the judicial authority handling the case.' Jafari Dolatabadi's remarks about the open status of Saeed Mortazavi's case in the murder of Zahra Kazemi come despite previous denials from judicial officials regarding the former Tehran prosecutor's role in Kazemi's death. Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and photographer, was arrested in 2003 outside Evin Prison and died shortly thereafter. Her death severely strained relations between Canada and Iran. At that time, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the then-head of the judiciary, had appointed Saeed Mortazavi to handle Kazemi's case. Recently, the Kazemi case has made headlines again after 14 years, with Ali Younesi, the former Minister of Intelligence, emphasizing that she was not a spy according to the assessments of his department. In an interview with the Sunday, March 4 issue of Iran newspaper, Younesi stated that two counter-intelligence experts from the Ministry of Intelligence had declared during the interrogation of Zahra Kazemi in a hotel that she was 'not a spy technically and scientifically.' However, he added that Saeed Mortazavi insisted that Kazemi was a 'spy' and transferred the case from the Ministry of Intelligence to the police's intelligence unit. According to Younesi, 'it seems that during the inspection process, when she resisted handing over her belongings, she was beaten, and her head hit the curb, leading to her brain hemorrhage.' Following Younesi's statements, the Justice for Iran organization published a testimony from 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 Kazemi's death that during an incident where Kazemi refused to hand over her backpack, a severe blow was inflicted on the left side of her face, and 'hospital medical records confirm the injuries.' This report identified Saeed Mortazavi as the primary suspect in Kazemi's death, but no action was taken on this matter. Criticism of the 'comparison' between the deaths of Zahra Kazemi and Kavous Seyed Emami was also voiced. In his remarks on Sunday, the Tehran prosecutor criticized the resurgence of the Kazemi case after 14 years and the 'comparison' of her death with that of Kavous Seyed Emami. He added, 'These comparisons and the claim that the Ministry of Intelligence is the authority for determining espionage, and therefore the judiciary cannot confirm espionage charges, are baseless claims that will not affect the handling of espionage cases in the judiciary.' Ali Younesi emphasized in his interview with Iran newspaper that only the Ministry of Intelligence is authorized to determine espionage, expressing regret that this ministry had no responsibility in the case of environmental activists. In response to these statements, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, declared that the determination of espionage is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Intelligence but of the judiciary. While the Tehran prosecutor and the judiciary spokesperson have accused Kavous Seyed Emami and detained environmental activists of 'espionage,' the Ministry of Intelligence has not yet provided an independent statement regarding this case. Previously, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, the head of the Environmental Faction in the Majlis, and some university associations rejected the judiciary officials' statements about Seyed Emami's 'espionage,' with Tabesh stating that 'the detainees were not political and did not have access to classified information.' Previously, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence under Hassan Rouhani, had stated that handling espionage cases is solely within the jurisdiction of this ministry. However, officials from the IRGC Intelligence Organization have informed members of parliament that based on the Criminal Procedure Code and the statute issued by the Supreme Leader in 2006, this organization can also intervene in espionage matters.