Iranian journalist Rouhollah Zam was executed on 12 December, according to Iranian state television. The following day on 13 December, British-Iranian dual national Kameel Ahmady was given a nine-year prison sentence.

Kameel Ahmady

Ahmady is a British-Iranian anthropologist who was arrested in August 2019. He was held for three months before being released on bail in November 2019, under a “preliminary investigation” on suspicion of “links to foreign countries and institutes affiliated with foreign (intelligence) services.” In addition to a fine of US$727,000, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for conducting “subversive” research work and “collaborating with a hostile government”. Ahmady had published books and papers on child labour, female genital mutilation and child marriage in Iran, and said that he was being targeted for such work. 

In a statement released via his friends in the UK, Ahmady said that in the autumn of 2019, he was “subject to 100 days of detention and extrajudicial interrogation without access to a lawyer”, and is now being handed a judgement “issued after two non-expert court hearings in a legal process full of flaws.”

“The legal focus of the accusation goes back to my research on the most harmful traditions about children in disadvantaged minority areas of Iran, but the main intention of my accusers has been to link my research to the United Nations 2030 sustainable development goals, and to stop my activities with the target community of my research,” he added. “My aim now is to appeal this verdict and hope for a fair trial in the appeal court.” His lawyer, Amir Raesian, also said that they will appeal the ruling and that there is still hope. The UK Foreign Office is aware of Ahmady’s case, but is yet to make a statement on his sentencing. 

He is one of 13 dual nationals detained in Iran, six of whom are British. Others with British connections detained in Iran are Shahram Shirkhani, Aras Amiri, Morad Tahbaz, Anoosheh Ashoori and Nazanin-Zaghari Ratcliffe, all of whom are held on charges of espionage, plotting against the Iranian government, or collaborating with hostile/foreign governments. Many of the charges are vague and detainees are not given full legal rights or due process, as part of Iran’s hostage diplomacy tactics.

Rouhollah Zam

Zam was found guilty for “corruption of earth” charges, a non-specific charge that doesn’t state a single crime, but is often used by the Iranian government against dissenters. He had been living in exile in France since 2009, but was arrested in 2019 during a visit to Iraq and detained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. After his arrest he was forcibly returned to Iran, and a video of Zam in a car making an “apology” and apparent confession for his actions was released by Iranian authorities. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in June this year. During his detention, he was denied contact with his family or lawyers for nine months. According to his father, Zam was only allowed to meet with his court-appointed lawyer in the presence of Iranian intelligence or security officials.

Zam ran an online news site, Amad News, which Tehran accused of inciting violence during the 2017 and 2018 protests. Amad News was a popular site on the messaging app Telegram, which had more than one million followers and shared videos and information about the government or authorities’ corruption. Iranian authorities claimed his work involved “espionage” for Israel and France, “cooperation with the hostile state of the United States”, “crimes against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the system.”

Reporters Without Borders had been campaigning against his death sentence and called for it to be overturned, arguing that he was “illegally kidnapped and arrested” and “tried in a grossly unfair manner”. They tweeted: “RSF is outraged at this new crime of Iranian justice and sees Ali Khamenei as the mastermind of this execution.” Many international organisations and figures condemned the execution alongside RSF. 

“Another despicable execution in Iran, punishing Rohollah Zam for exercising his right to freely express himself. Abolish the death penalty, in Iran and around the world”, tweeted Sam Zarifi, Secretary General for the International Commission of Jurists.

There had been reports that his family were permitted to visit Zam on the eve of his death, but that the authorities had not informed Zam or his family of the scheduled execution. 

 

UN and EU Backlash

The UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet released a statement on Zam’s execution, stating that she is “appalled”. 

“His death sentence and execution by hanging are emblematic of a pattern of forced confessions extracted under torture and broadcast on state media being used as a basis to convict people,” she said.

She also highlighted that Iran’s detention of activists and protesters, with long prison sentences or the death penalty, violates international standards and due process, failing to comply with he International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This covenant includes the right to freedom of expression and opinion, the right to life, and the right to a fair trial. She called on the Iranian government to “immediately halt their alarming and increasing use of the death penalty and vague national security charges to suppress independent voices and dissent in Iran,” as well as the release of all those arbitrarily detained for exercising their human rights. 

On 14 December, many European ambassadors pulled out of a business forum with Iran. The ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy and Austria to Iran, as well as the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, pulled out of the event amid outcry over Zam’s execution. The event, known as the Europe-Iran Business Forum, was intended to be held virtually by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and has since been postponed, but the execution was not mentioned in the organiser’s statement. France’s foreign ministry tweeted that it would not take part in the event “due to the barbaric and unacceptable execution”, along with the hashtag #nobusinessasusual. Iran slammed the reaction as “interventionist statements” from the EU, summoning the ambassador of Germany which holds the rotating Council of the EU presidency.

Whilst the death penalty is not illegal under international human rights law (IHRL), Iran has abused its obligations by using it to suppress dissent. The death penalty under IHRL is reserved only for the most serious crimes and after a fair trial has been given. Zam’s execution bypassed human rights, punishing him for speaking out. IOHR condemns the use of the death penalty in this regard and the arbitrary detention of Iranian and dual-national citizens.

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