Iran sentences journalist to death over online work

Iran sentenced a once-exiled journalist to death over his online work that helped inspire nationwide economic protests that began at the end of 2017, authorities said on Tuesday.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced Zam's death sentence on Tuesday, saying he had been convicted of “corruption on Earth,” a charge often used in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran's government.

It was not immediately clear when the sentence was handed down.

Ruhollah Zam's website and a channel he created on the popular messaging app Telegram had spread the timings of the protests and embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged Iran's Shiite theocracy.

Those demonstrations represented the biggest challenge to Iran since the 2009 Green Movement protests and set the stage for similar mass unrest last November.

The details of his arrest still remain unclear.

Though he was based in Paris, Zam somehow returned to Iran and found himself detained by intelligence officials.

A series of a televised confessions have aired in recent months over his work.

Zam is able to appeal his sentence, issued by a Revolutionary Court.