[pnews-news] Iranian-Canadian Filmmaker Brutally Beaten Up By Iranian Officials In Iranian Embassy In Ottawa

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Iranian-Canadian Filmmaker Brutally Beaten Up By Iranian Officials In
Iranian Embassy In Ottawa

MONTREAL, June 19th, 2005

On Friday, June 17th, 2005, Masoud Raouf, an award-winng Iranian-Canadian 
filmmaker from Montreal, who was planning to film Iranian election-day 
activities at the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa, was beaten up by Iranian 
officials for filming without permission.

Before entering the Embassy, the filmmaker had informed RCMP officers of 
his intention to film inside. The RCMP were just outside the Embassy doors 
to monitor a demonstration in support of a boycott of the Iranian 
presidential elections taking place that day. The demonstrators were 
standing on the opposite side of the street from the RCMP and Embassy.

Upon entering the Embassy, Mr. Raouf immediately went to the polling 
tables to ask to whom he should address his request for permission to 
film. He also began to set up the camera and set the light balance.

He was approached by a group of three Embassy officials, who accused him 
of filming inside the Embassy; they demanded that he turn the camera over 
to them. The filmmaker denied filming the polling stations, and asked that 
the Embassy officials call the RCMP to witness a demonstration of the 
videotape that was in the camera. The officials agreed to call the RCMP, 
but did not carry out their promise to do so. Meanwhile, the pollsters and 
the few voters that were present in the room carried on with their 
activities.

The atmosphere became more and more tense, and the three Embassy officials 
closed in on Mr. Raouf, who continued to request that the RCMP be present. 
At one point, one of the officials grabbed the camera and pushed "Play"; 
he noted that there was footage of the demonstration outside, which had 
been taken from inside through the window of the Embassy. There were, 
however, no scenes of the polling tables.

Mr. Raouf continued to demand that the RCMP be present and asked the 
officials to return his camera. They refused, and started to leave with 
the camera. He then slammed his hand against the Embassy window, trying to 
get the attention of the RCMP to come to help him.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a fist hit him violently in the nose; another 
fist hit him on the right side of his head breaking a tooth; his shirt and 
jacket were torn as the officials began roughing him up, throwing him 
against the wall; and feet began kicking him on both of his legs and on 
his genitalia. Mr. Raouf grabbed the first thing he could reach, a 
paper-towel holder, and smashed it against the window to get the attention 
of anyone at all at that point.

The glass shattered, making a huge noise. The filmmaker ran for the door, 
and met the RCMP as they were coming in. The three Embassy officials 
scattered, and demonstrators from outside rushed towards the Embassy and 
occupied the space in front. They started screaming, fearing for Mr. 
Raouf's life.

After forty-five minutes, bleeding profusely from the cuts on his face, 
Mr. Raouf was finally able to leave the Embassy, having gotten his camera 
back, but without the film. He spoke briefly to the crowd and the media 
present about his ordeal, and was taken to the hospital to be treated for 
his injuries.

In response to his experience, Mr. Raouf states, "If brutal acts like 
these can occur to a Canadian citizen in an Iranian Embassy in Canada, 
imagine what could happen to someone in a similar situation in Iran, 
especially to someone held in an Iranian prison. Zahra Kazemi's case comes 
immediately to mind." He adds, "Since the Islamic regime came into power 
in Iran, the Iranian government believes it can commit any kind of 
atrocity, either within Iran or outside the country, in complete impunity. 
For example, neither of the two candidates, Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjan, who 
have been selected for the second round of elections next week, can leave 
Iran because of their involvement in assassinations of opposition leaders 
and political dissidents in European countries."


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