Iran upholds dissident journalist’s death sentence

Dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam speaks during his trial at Iran’s Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 2 June 2020 [ALI SHIRBAND/MIZAN NEWS/AFP/Getty Images]

The Iranian Supreme Court upheld a death sentence issued against dissident journalist Roohollah Zam, judicial spokesperson, Gholamhossein Esmaili, told local media yesterday.

Zam, director of the local Amad News, was convicted in 2017 of “fueling anti-government unrest on social media”. He was lured from France and arrested in Iraq last year.

“Yes, the Supreme Court … has upheld the sentence passed by the Revolutionary Court in this case,” Esmaili told a news conference streamed live on a judiciary website yesterday.

Esmaili said the court had considered and approved Zam’s sentence “more than one month ago”.

Earlier this year, an Iranian court found him guilty of the “corruption on earth” charge that carries the death penalty.

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