IRAN: Iran's judiciary abruptly ended the trial yesterday of an intelligence agent accused of killing a Canadian journalist, prompting angry lawyers to complain key evidence had been ignored or covered up.
A verdict is expected in a week or so.
Foreign diplomats and journalists were barred from the third day of the trial of the agent, Mr Mohammad Reza Aqdam, over the death last July of Ms Zahra Kazemi (54), a photographer of Iranian origin who was detained after taking pictures of a Tehran jail.
Iranian human rights lawyer Ms Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace laureate, said the judge had ignored testimony that might have incriminated a judiciary official.
The case has damaged Iran's relations with Canada, which announced the withdrawal of its ambassador last week. It has also exposed deep rifts between President Mohammad Khatami's reformist government and the judiciary, which is run by his hardline opponents.
"I'm so angry I cannot speak. They didn't even pay attention to our evidence and announced the end of the trial," Ms Ebadi, who was representing Ms Kazemi's family, said outside the Tehran court.
"This is not a fair trial. The case hasn't been reviewed. If they issue a verdict it will be unfair," she added.
Mr Aqdam faces a charge of "semi-intentional murder", which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
The judiciary initially announced Ms Kazemi had died of a stroke. But a government inquiry showed she received a blow to the head inside Evin prison that cracked her skull and caused a brain haemorrhage. She went into a coma and died in hospital.
Ms Ebadi and Mr Aqdam's lawyers said the court had ignored accounts by witnesses who said Ms Kazemi was hit on the head by a judiciary official shortly after her arrest.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman insisted the trial was transparent and warned Canada not to interfere.
"We have to be accountable to Iranian citizens about this case not to a foreign country," said Mr Hamid Reza Asefi.
The decision to end the trial was denounced by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.