Iran, Stranger to Truth
The strangest things show up in my news aggregator. Today, in Tehran Times:
TEHRAN (IRNA)—Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Saturday condemned Canadian justice system for acquitting a policeman who killed Iranian national Keyvan Tabesh in Vancouver in 2003.
Tabesh, 18, Iranian national residing in Canada, was shot and killed instantly on July 23, 2003 by the Vancouver policeman.
Asefi described the court decision clearing the policeman as “travesty of justice”.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed Canadian court decision to clear policeman as unfair motivated by political considerations.
“The Iranian government would take legal action against Canada to ensure fair trial of the policeman who killed the Iranian national in cold blood,” Asefi said. More >
Iranians reading that news item with no context do not get the full or truthful picture.
The family of Keyvan Tabesh, a young Iranian shot and killed by a Port Moody police officer on 14 July, expressed shock at the attitude of the Iranian government trying to use the incident as a mean to cover up the death of Ms. Zahra Kazemi, the 54 years-old Iranian-Canadian photojournalist. Iran Press Service – More>
Ken Taylor, of US Iranian hostage fame oh so long ago:
Ken Taylor, a former Canadian ambassador to Tehran between 1979 and 1980, said the Iranian government’s call for transparency is “outrageous”. “It’s total mischief and absolute nonsense to try and link the two cases together”, said Taylor, adding “It weakens their own case by taking this step”.
Local Iranians speak out:
Pari Saâidi, a spokeswoman with the Iranian-Canadian Community of Western Canada, said the Iranian government’s comments are in direct retaliation for the Canadian government’s demand for answers in Zahra Kazemi’s death. “This is bullying and the Canadian government should not buy it. They’re covering their crime. Whatever happened here will be thoroughly investigated”, she said Thursday.
The death of Tabesh was tragic, yes. He apparently suffered from depression, and threatened a police officer with a machete and was killed
Tuesday, we learned that the young Port Moody man gunned down by a police officer two years ago had spent time in a mental institution just three months before he was killed. Keyvan Tabesh was shot to death by a plainclothes officer on July 14th, two years ago. The officer said Tabesh was running at him, weilding this machete. [The incident began as] earlier that night Tabesh had used his machete to attack two women in a car. More >
Iran continues to play games and hide its culpability in the death of a Canadian national at the hands of government sponsored torturers.