Friday, April 01, 2005

Canada’s Government a Security Risk

Canadian officials secretly allowed an Iranian official into Canada to learn all about our new airport security measures in 2003, despite the torture and murder of a Canadian journalist in Iran. CBC News today reports Canada Customs was afraid the Iranian visit would become public knowledge, just a week after Canada recalled it’s ambassador to Iran over the Kazemi murder.

Canada was granting an Iranian request for a detailed briefing on the Advance Passenger Information Database, which is supposed to identify potential threats to Airliners before the passengers board. In the dozens of emails CBC Radio obtained, not once did anyone question why Canada was revealing the details of a new security system to officials of country known to support terrorism.

Zahra Kazemi was arrested in Iran as a spy in June of 2003 while taking pictures of a Tehran prison. The Iranian-born photojournalist was a Canadian citizen. Iran cleared the security officers who had custody of Kazemi of any wrongdoing, and maintains that her death was accidental.

Yup, somehow she accidentally managed to get flogged, a broken nose, badly beaten genitals, broken fingers, and gang raped, all while in custody.

An Iranian doctor who was just granted asylum in Canada Monday, says security officers raped, bludgeoned, flogged, and tortured Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi to death. Dr. Shahram Azam was the emergency room doctor at the Tehran hospital that treated Kazemi just before she died, in July 2003. He says the Canadian Government knew the true facts about her death six months ago, but has inexplicitly remained silent.

Paul Martin, what is your government doing? This isn't the first time your government has done something like this. What is this penchant Liberal governments have for repressive regimes? What other more repellant thug-nations will you cozy up to? Are you planning on inviting Robert Mugabe to Ottawa soon?

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