Iran sentenced a journalist to death for his work that inspired nationwide economic protests in 2017. According to Iranian officials, Ruhollah Zam fanned unrest and undermined the country’s theocratic rulers by publicizing protest times and publishing embarrassing information about the country’s leaders on AmadNews, his website, and the messaging app Telegram. Zam, who had been in exile in Paris after fleeing after being accused of working with foreign intelligence services, returned to Iran under unknown circumstances and was arrested in October 2019.
