Iran Detains Five in Death of Journalist

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

The Associated Press 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Authorities detained five Iranian security agents in connection with the death of a journalist from Canada who died in police custody, state-run Tehran radio reported Saturday.

The officers were detained a day earlier after ``comprehensive investigations'' into the death of Zahra Kazemi on July 10, the report said, quoting a statement from Iran's judiciary.

Kazemi, 54, died of head injuries and had complained before her death of abuse by guards, according to a report from a presidential committee.

The Iran-born journalist, who lived in Montreal, was arrested while taking photos of a prison during student-led protests. She was interrogated for 77 hours before Revolutionary Guards took her to a hospital, where she died from her injuries two weeks later.

The radio report did not identify the security agents who were detained, the agency where they worked or any details about their alleged involvement in the death except to say they were ``in close contact'' with Kazemi while she was in custody.

``The investigations will continue until a final result is achieved,'' the statement said.

Veteran judge Javad Esmaeili was appointed Friday to lead a new inquiry into Kazemi's death, the Tehran Prosecutor Office said.

Kazemi's death strained relations between Canada and Iran.

Iran summoned Canada's charge d'affaires on Saturday to protest the police shooting of an Iranian citizen on July 14 in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver.

Keyvan Tabesh, 18, who had lived in Canada for about two years, was shot and killed by a plainclothes police officer. Canadian police said Tabesh ran at the officer waving a machete.

On Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi demanded a thorough investigation into Tabesh's killing and accused Canadian police of criminal action.

Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham responded by sending a diplomatic note to the Iranian Embassy outlining the ``open and transparent'' way Canadian investigations are conducted and urging the same treatment from the Iranian government.