On December 8th, the spokesman of the regime of the Islamic Republic’s Judiciary announced that the confirmation of the death sentence of Rouhollah Zam, controversial creator of Amad News, had been upheld by the Supreme Court of the ruling regime of Iran. Rouhollah Zam, who lived in France, was lured to Iraq and kidnapped by the regime of Iran in October of 2019.
The May 4 court proceeding was the fourth in a series of hearings and took place at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, who regularly rules on trials against journalists. Previous hearings took place on February 10, 16, and 24. In total, Zam faces 17 charges.
The media published photographs of Ruhollah Zam in court wearing a protective mask. The judiciary had previously stated that it would postpone the hearings until Iran’s coronavirus crisis eased, but then changed tack and brought Zam to trial in the presence of the judge and court officials, including the deputy prosecutor, the secretary of the court, and other agents.
Reporting on the hearing, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) said the prosecutor’s representative repeatedly accused Ruhollah Zam of having links with spying operations and claimed he was not a journalist. Among the “spies” he was said to have links with Saghar Kasraie who worked for a congressional office in 2016-2017, former political prisoner Amir Abbas Fakhravar and Reza Pahlavi, the former Iranian crown prince prior to the 1979 revolution. The three were part of a foreign counterintelligence operation against the Islamic Republic, the court heard.
Zam responded by reiterating that he was a journalist and broadcaster at the time of his arrest and that his activities had been in keeping with his job as a media worker. When the official asked him to respond to the accusation of acting against national and international security, he replied, “No, I was doing a press job.”
Regarding Rouhollah Zam’s cooperation with National Iranian Congress (NIC), Judge Salavati stated that the main purpose of the NIC is to change the regime of Iran. Formed in 2003 by Amir Abbas Fakhravar, its serious operation started in 2013. Fakhravar and people associated with this congress are in contact with the CIA and Mossad and look to lobby the US Congress for funding against the Islamic Republic of Iran, network within the country, synergize with the opposition, and attempt to provoke the US to use the military attack against Iran.
The deputy prosecutor added: “Zam didn’t try to deny his cooperation with NIC, even saying in his statements that NIC had once invited him to give a speech in the US.”
The prosecutor’s representative or deputy, whose name has not been released, asked Zam why he had been in contact with Saghar Kasraie.
“You were not with the media because the media does not communicate with foreign intelligence services and does not message the person in US Congress in charge of running operations to overthrow the regime,” the prosecutor’s representative told him.
According to ISNA, Zam stated that Amir Abbas Fakhravar, creator of NIC as stated above, had introduced him to Kasraie and that he had talked to her about securing a budget for Amad News.
When the Revolutionary Guards announced the arrest of Ruhollah Zam on October 14, 2019, some Iranian officials described it as a victory over “foreign enemies.” The Guards Corps described Zam as a dissident journalist who headed up the “counter-revolutionary and hostile Amad News network.”
Shortly after his arrest was announced, state television showed footage of Zam confessing to his guilt while blindfolded. In the clip, Zam apologized for what he had done and said that it was not advisable to “trust other states” — all of which could indicate he had been forced to confess, and possibly under torture.
In the May 4 hearing, Zam denied charges of “widespread misconduct in creating, destroying, and disrupting the economic order” — charges that suggest he was engaged in massive financial dealings that could help destabilize Iran’s economy.
Other charges listed in the indictment include “corruption on earth,” “establishment and administration of the Amad News channel and the Voice of People,” “spying for Israeli intelligence services via the intelligence services of one of the countries in the region,” “spying for the French intelligence service,” “conspiring with the US Government against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and “insulting Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei.”
Both charges of “corruption on earth” and “collaborating with hostile states” are punishable by death.
