Iran’s Vice President Ali Abtahi said Zahra Kazemi died "of a brain hemorrhage resulting from beatings."
Kazemi, aged 54, was arrested on June 23 for taking photographs of Evin prison in Northern Tehran. She was later pronounced dead after falling into a coma.
However, officials in the capital of Tehran are still refusing to allow Canada to conduct its own probe into the photographer's death.
"We are knowledgeable enough to examine the body and find out the cause of her death, so we will not allow foreign teams to investigate," Health Minister Massoud Pezeshkian told AFP.
He agreed that Kazemi's cause of death was a brain hemorrhage, but said the investigation was ongoing. "I examined the body myself and there were no bruises or cuts of the face," Pezeshkian said.
"We are going to examine the corpse again and I will view the report, and I have appointed a medical team to look into this case."
Iranian authorities initially said Kazemi had died of a "stroke" after falling ill while intelligence ministry agents were questioning her. Her relatives, however, insisted she had been tortured and beaten into a coma by her interrogators.
Kazemi, who held an Iranian passport, was in Tehran to take pictures of the recent student protests. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
