Iranian journalist Ruhullah Zam, whose reporting helped incite anti-government protests, was hanged by Iran on Saturday morning, according to state media reports.
Zam, 47, was convicted of “corruption on Earth” and sentenced to death in June 2020. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence on Tuesday, shortly before his execution.
Al Jazeera reported on Saturday that vague accusations of “corruption on earth” are often used in “spying or overthrowing the Iranian government.”
Zame ran the site Amad News and coordinated a telegram channel that helped spread information during the wave of anti-regime protests that shook Iran in 2017 and 2018. At the time he was living abroad in Paris, but returned to the Middle East. Arrested in Iraq in 2019 and by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It is not clear why Zam returned to the region, but Karim Saddadpore, a senior Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Tweeted On Saturday, Zam “reportedly was lured to Iraq (from France), kidnapped, taken back to Iran, and tortured in confession. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters.”
Iran hanged only disgruntled social media activist and French resident Raoullah Zam. He was reportedly lured to Iraq (France), kidnapped, deported to Iran, and tortured into confessing. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters. https://t.co/1lTng7dnaF
– Karim Sadjadjadpour (ksadjadpour) December 12, 2020
Jam’s execution has drawn international condemnation.
The international human rights group Amnesty International argued that Zam’s sentence was based on a “completely unfair trial” and that his death sentence had been upheld – following the Supreme Court’s ruling, “condemning the international campaign to save his life.”
“With the execution of Ruhollah Zamani, Iranian officials join the company of criminal gangs and violent extremists who silence journalists by killing them,” Sheriff Mansour, coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ program, said in a statement on Saturday. “This is a monstrous and shameful act, and the international community should not allow it to draw attention.”
Iran has been in turmoil for three years
Zame led the Iranian regime mainly for his role in the protests about three years ago. According to the CPJ, he “used Amad News and Telegram to spread embarrassing information about Iranian officials and the timing and locations of the protests.”
As Vox Zac Bouch au MP explained in 2018 that when the protests were at their height, demonstrations were sparked by outrage over the prices of basic commodities – especially eggs – but some of the biggest ones were quickly fed up with the frustrations with Iran. . Government.
Protests began in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, but gained momentum as more and more people joined. According to Butch MP:
These newcomers turned the tide by blaming the opposition [Iranian President Hassan Rouhani] To more widely blame the Iranian government and political system for poor economic performance.
Protests then broke out in dozens of Iranian cities and towns. As of January 2, protests were reported “in almost every province” in the country, according to the Associated Press. And the protests targeted not only Rouhani’s president, but also the Islamic Republic – “referring to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei”, “Death to the dictator” and “Death to Iran’s security forces.” They have also called for government support for the Assad regime, raising the question of why Iran spends money there when there is trouble at home.
All said, thousands of people across the country marched to protest the theocratic Iranian regime and at least 21 people were killed by security forces.
President Donald Trump – who has consistently slammed Iran and withdrawn the United States from the 2015 Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement – Tweeted In support of the opposition at the time.
“The great Iranians have been oppressed for many years,” he said. “They are hungry for food and freedom. Along with human rights, Iran’s assets are also being looted. Time for change! ”
Despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama administration, Iran has failed at every level. The great Iranians have been oppressed for many years. They are hungry for food and freedom. Along with human rights, Iran’s assets are also being looted. Time for change!
– Donald J. Trump (@RealDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
The protests finally subsided in January 2018, but have been seen in the country’s largest since the Green Movement, which has been demanding democratic reforms.
At the time, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed the 2018 protests on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The three countries, as well as a handful of others mentioned in the film’s “apology” – most likely a forced apology – were made by Zam, which was shared by Iran’s Tasnim news agency after the journalist’s arrest.
Zam fled Iran after protests from the Green Movement, which was fueled by Iran’s June 2009 presidential election. He was granted asylum in France and remained there until his arrest by Iran in 2019.
More recently, Iran has been rocked by even more protests – first a sharp rise in prices in 2019, and then in 2020 following the destruction of a Ukrainian jetliner flying from Tehran by Iranian security forces.
The country also faced external pressure: Just last month, Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated, adding to regional tensions. President-elect Joe Biden has indicated he plans to renegotiate a nuclear deal with Iran – a negotiated by President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president – but some analysts have seen Fakhrizadeh’s death mediated. U.S. And more difficult to get between Iran.
It is unclear whether Zam’s execution will have an impact on Iran’s already weak international reputation. Naveed Afkari, a notorious human rights abuser and hanged wrestler, was arrested in September this year on charges of killing a security guard during a 2018 protest.
“If I am hanged, I want you to know that the innocent man, he tried with all his might to hear and fought but was hanged,” Afkari said before his death.
The U.S., among some inmates on death row inmates – has hinted late that it intends to keep up pressure on Iran, especially on nuclear issues. And in its statement on Saturday, Amnesty International called on the global community to take action.
“The world must not remain silent as the Iranian authorities will carry out horrific attacks on the right to life and liberty. [of] Expression at an unprecedented level, ”the group said. “We call on the international community, including the UN Human Rights Council and EU member states, to take immediate steps to prevent Iranian authorities from using the death penalty as a weapon of political repression.”
