From the Globe and Mail:
Tehran stepped up the war of words with Ottawa on Thursday, accusing Canadian police of killing an Iranian man in Vancouver and demanding that the Canadian government bring those responsible to justice.
…The accusation appears to be escalating a heated dispute sparked by the death of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was beaten and died while in Iranian custody. [Related item: Canadian Journalist ‘Beaten to Death’ Iran.] She was buried in Iran this week against the wishes of her son, leading Ottawa to recall its ambassador to Tehran and threaten further action.
Wire services cited Iranian state radio accusations that police in Vancouver had “attacked” three young Iranians on Tuesday, and killed one of them identified as Keyvan Tabesh. A young Iranian émigré was, indeed, killed in Vancouver — although it occurred several weeks ago. Port Moody police say that a young man identified as Mr. Tabesh was shot dead by an out-of-uniform police officer as he ran at the officer waving a machete.
…A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran suggested that there is a lack of freedom in the Canadian media, saying that controls are imposed by the Canadian government and that “the strong censorship of this story creates more ambiguities.”
The spokesman called for “an explicit and transparent and satisfactory explanation” and the punishment of those responsible, a near-echo of Ottawa’s demands in the Kazemi case. [“Iran accuses Canadian police of killing Iranian”, Globe and Mail, Jul. 24, 2003]
Considering the irrational standards many Canadians use to label the U.S., the label is appropriate. Rationally, there is no story here. Iran is just trying to play the same moral equivalentalism with Canada, that American intellectuals play against the Bush administration. Truth is, with its “hate crimes” legislation Canada does impose strong censorship on its own people.