Iranian dissident journalist executed

TEHERAN • Iranian dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was convicted of fomenting violence during the 2017 anti-government protests, was executed yesterday, Iran's state television reported.

Iran's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Zam, who was captured last year after years in exile. His Amadnews feed had more than one million followers.

State broadcaster Seda va Sima said yesterday that Zam, "director of the counter-revolutionary Amadnews network, was hanged this morning".

France and human rights groups had condemned the Supreme Court's decision. Zam, who was the son of a pro-reform Shi'ite cleric, fled Iran and was given asylum in France.

In October last year, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had trapped Zam in a "complex operation using intelligence deception". It did not say where this took place.

Iranian officials have accused the US as well as Teheran's regional rival Saudi Arabia and government opponents living in exile of stoking the unrest, which began in late 2017 as regional protests over economic hardship spread nationwide.

Officials said 21 people were killed during that period and thousands arrested. The unrest was among the worst Iran had seen in decades, and was followed by even deadlier protests last year against fuel price rises.

Zam's Amadnews feed was suspended by messaging service Telegram in 2018 for allegedly inciting violence but later reappeared under another name.

REUTERS