Middle Eastern media mogul shot to death in Istanbul
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The founder of an Iranian media network which included western programs translated into Farsi, as well as Kurdish, Azeri, and Arabic, was shot to death in Istanbul, according to Turkish media, after had been tried by Iran in absentia for “propaganda against the state” and “acting against national security.”
Saeed Karimian and an associate were driving in Istanbul on Saturday evening, when their car was blocked by a jeep and shots were fired, according to the Turkish Dogan news agency, which added both men died.
The Turkish Hurriyet news reported that two shooters wearing masks got out of the jeep.
According to Dogan, the local mayor said initial police finding suggested the shooting may have been due to a financial disagreement, without elaborating.
Gem Group was founded in London, but relocated to Dubai. Gem TV has been criticized for “un-Islamic” programming and spreading western culture, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. It also produces TV series and movies.
Last year a Revolutionary Court in Tehran tried Karimian in absentia and sentenced him to six years in jail on charges of "acting against national security" and "propaganda against the state."
BBC reported one of its employees was told by a family member of Karimian that he had been threatened by the regime the past three months, and as a result was planning to leave Istanbul and move back to London.
Karimian had dual Iranian-British citizenship, according to the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News.
Karimian and his father, according to Tasnim, also had ties to the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).
MEK leaders made Iraq as their base of operations during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s after they fell out with the clerical rulers of Iran following the 1979 revolution
Saeed Karimian and an associate were driving in Istanbul on Saturday evening, when their car was blocked by a jeep and shots were fired, according to the Turkish Dogan news agency, which added both men died.
The Turkish Hurriyet news reported that two shooters wearing masks got out of the jeep.
According to Dogan, the local mayor said initial police finding suggested the shooting may have been due to a financial disagreement, without elaborating.
Gem Group was founded in London, but relocated to Dubai. Gem TV has been criticized for “un-Islamic” programming and spreading western culture, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. It also produces TV series and movies.
Last year a Revolutionary Court in Tehran tried Karimian in absentia and sentenced him to six years in jail on charges of "acting against national security" and "propaganda against the state."
BBC reported one of its employees was told by a family member of Karimian that he had been threatened by the regime the past three months, and as a result was planning to leave Istanbul and move back to London.
Karimian had dual Iranian-British citizenship, according to the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News.
Karimian and his father, according to Tasnim, also had ties to the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).
MEK leaders made Iraq as their base of operations during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s after they fell out with the clerical rulers of Iran following the 1979 revolution