Iran: opponent Rouhollah Zam sentenced to death

Opponent Rouhollah Zam during his trial before the Tehran Revolutionary Court on June 2, 2020. ALI SHIRBAND / MIZAN NEWS / AFP

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In Iran, arrested last October, the opponent Rouhollah Zam was sentenced to death on Tuesday, June 30. Refugee in France until his mysterious disappearance then reappearance in Tehran, he animated a platform of critical information of the Islamic Republic. He was notably accused of "spying for the benefit of French intelligence".

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Rouhollah Zam had received refugee status in France. The Iranian national was installed with his family in Montauban, in the south of the country. He hosted on Telegram a channel called Amadnews. This thread followed by 1.4 million subscribers ended up being closed by the encrypted platform at the request of Tehran. Iran accused Amadnews of inciting violence, especially when protests broke out in the country in 2017-2018.

Last October, Rouhollah Zam flew to Iraq and gave no further news, until Iran announced his arrest during an operation of which no details are disclosed.

► Read also: Arrest of opponent Rouhollah Zam, head of Amadnews

In February, official images show the 41-year-old man in blue prisoner clothes at the start of his closed-door trial. He was tried inter alia for "  crimes against the internal and external security of the country  ", "  spying for the benefit of the French intelligence service  " and insulting "  the sacred nature of Islam  ". 

The court considered that the 13 counts amounted to the count " corruption on earth "  and therefore pronounced the death penalty,  " said spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaïli, according to the official website Mizan Online. Corruption on Earth  " is one of the most serious charges under the Iranian penal code. The Iranian opponent was sentenced to death on Tuesday. In theory, he can appeal to the Supreme Court.

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