An Iranian journalist identified as Ruhollah Zam, who was accused of inciting mass anti-government protests in 2017, has been sentenced to death.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the arrest of Zam in October last year. The elite IRGC described Zam, a former opposition figure who had lived in exile in France, as a “counter-revolutionary” who was “directed by France’s intelligence service”.
According to reports, the details of his arrest remain uncertain and although he was based in Paris, the journalist somehow returned to Iran, where he was detained by intelligence officials. A series of televised confessions have aired in recent months over his work.
Speaking from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig said: “There are reports that he [Zam] was lured to Iraq then handed over to Iran.”
He was jailed on 13 count charges which the Iranian court has considered as instances of ‘corruption on earth’ and therefore passed the death sentence,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on Tuesday.
“Corruption on Earth” is a charge often used in cases allegedly involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran’s government. It was not immediately clear when the sentence was handed down.
Source: Aljazeera
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