Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam was executed by authorities in Iran on Saturday morning. He was 47 years old. His death by hanging was reported by state run media.
In June Zam was found guilty of “corruption on earth” and sentenced to death. On Tuesday the Supreme Court of Iran upheld the decision, allowing his execution. According to Al Jazeera the charge of “corruption on earth” is often used “in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran’s government”.
Opposition Journalist
Zam ran the online opposition news site Amad News. He also created a channel on the messaging app Telegram. Both released information that was embarrassing to officials and directly challenged the Shiite theocracy of Iran. These sites were also used to help spread information about the timing and locations of a series of large protests which took place in 2017-2018.
The protests were originally organized against a sudden price hike in the price of food. Opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani staged their first demonstrations in the conservative city of Mashhad. Many believe this was done in Mashhad specifically as an attempt to direct public anger towards the President. As the protests spread, they turned against the entire ruling class of the country.
Eventually tens of thousands of people turned out to protest the regime, at least 21 people were killed by security forces.
Ruhollah Zam shared online videos directly challenging President Rouhani and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The channel was shut down by Telegram after complaints by the Iranian government claiming that it was spreading information on how to make gasoline bombs. The channel eventually continued with a different name. Zam denied using Telegram to incite violence.
Return From Asylum
Zam fled Iran after the Green Movement of 2009, which demanded democratic reforms in the country.
He was granted asylum in France and stayed there until his capture in 2019 when he returned to the region. It is unclear why he returned, though Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, tweeted that Zam was “reportedly lured to Iraq (from France), kidnapped, taken back to Iran, and tortured into confession."
After his arrest he appeared in an “apology” video, very likely coerced. The video was shared by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.
International Repercussions
This comes after another controversial execution this past September. Wrestler David Afkari was executed for the alleged murder of a security guard during the 2018 protests. “If I am executed, I want you to know that an innocent person, even though he tried and fought with all his strength to be heard, was executed,” he said before his death.
Both executions will only worsen Iran’s poor international reputation. This, along with the recent assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, may increase tensions, making Biden’s plan to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal more difficult.
According to Reporters Without Borders Iran is one of the world’s most repressive countries for journalists. Since 1979 at least 860 journalists and citizen-journalists have been imprisoned or executed in Iran.
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