Dubai, July 24: Canada has said it was recalling its ambassador to Tehran after Iranian authorities buried an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist, who died in police custody, even as President Mohammed Khatami ordered an inquiry into the killing. Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said the diplomat, Philip Mackinnon, would be called back before the end of the week for discussions on how best to mount pressure on Iran to return the body of Zahra Kazemi as desired by her sons in Canada.
"We clearly want the remains of Kazemi returned to Canada in accordance with the wishes of her family," Graham told a television channel.
Referring to Iranian admissions that Kazemi had been beaten in custody and had died from her mistreatment, he said "we insist on getting to the bottom of that". Iranian President Mohammed Khatami told reporters at the end of a cabinet meeting that he has talked to the judiciary chief and has called for an independent investigation into the case.
"The friends promised me to assign an independent judge to investigate the case. A judge who will be neither from the judicial organization of the armed forces nor from the prosecutor's office," Khatami said.
He called for an open court proceedings to investigate Kazemi's death and said in the meantime the defendant should stand an open trial in presence of a defense lawyer, the official Iranian news agency quoted him as saying. Bureau Report