Zam, 47, who edited a popular Persian news website Amadnews from France, was a staunch opponent of the Iranian establishment. The IRGC accused him of fomenting unrest during the 2017 widespread protest in the country through social media and in particular the messaging app Telegram, a popular platform in Iran.
In one of their targeted operations “repatriating” an Iranian fugitive from abroad, IRGC intelligence operatives in late 2019 blindfolded and abducted Zam from Iraq and returned him to Iran.
The opposition figure was charged by a court in June for “corruption on earth,” a capital crime that carries a mandatory death sentence. The charge is often used to prosecute those accused of espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran’s government.
Zam, the son of reformist cleric Mohammad Ali Zam, was accused of spying for US, French and Israeli intelligence services, a charge the journalist has denied.
“It’s appalling that in a shocking escalation in the use of the death penalty against dissidents, this morning, Iranian authorities executed Ruhollah Zam,” tweeted Tara Sepehri Far, a researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW).
France’s foreign ministry condemned the execution of the Paris-based journalist, calling it a “serious breach of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Iran.”
“This is a barbaric and unacceptable act, contrary to this country’s international commitments,” read the statement.
Rights monitor Amnesty International condemned Zam’s execution just days after his death sentence was announced as a “reprehensible bid to avoid an international campaign to save his life” and urged the international community to “take immediate action to pressure the Iranian authorities to halt their escalating use of the death penalty as a weapon of political repression.”
The 2017 protests started in Mashhad, over the state of the Iranian economy and a jump in food prices, but soon expanded to others. Thousands of people were reportedly detained by authorities and 25 killed.
Amadnews, and its respective Telegram channel, were a major source of information during the protests, spreading the times of protests and directly criticizing powerful officials in the Iranian government.
Updated at 5:55 pm with Amnesty International statement
Updated at 21:53 with French foreign ministry statement
