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Global Outcry Grows over Iran's 'Barbaric' Execution of Dissident

Ruhollah Zam seen during a trial in June in Iran. (Reuters)
Ruhollah Zam seen during a trial in June in Iran. (Reuters)
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Global Outcry Grows over Iran's 'Barbaric' Execution of Dissident

Ruhollah Zam seen during a trial in June in Iran. (Reuters)
Ruhollah Zam seen during a trial in June in Iran. (Reuters)

Iran on Monday faced a growing international backlash over its execution of the France-based dissident Ruhollah Zam, with Western governments accusing Tehran of abducting him abroad to be put on trial.

Zam was hanged on Saturday after being sentenced to death over his role in protests during the winter of 2017-18, when he ran a popular social media channel that rallied regime opponents.

He had lived in Paris for several years after being granted refugee status in France.

In October 2019 he left Paris on a trip for Iraq.

The motivations for his trip remain unclear but activists say he was lured into travelling to Iraq, was captured by Iranian security forces and then transferred to Iran for trial.

"The US strongly condemns Iran's unjust, barbaric execution of Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist kidnapped abroad by the regime," said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The German foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday it was shocked by the circumstances surrounding Zam's conviction "particularly by the... kidnapping from abroad".

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was "appalled" by the execution, adding that there are "serious concerns" that Zam's capture outside of Iran "could amount to an abduction".

After Iranian state TV broadcast what it billed as an "interview" with Zam while detained in July, Bachelet also said his sentence was "emblematic of a pattern of forced confessions extracted under torture and broadcast on state media being used as a basis to convict people."

'Exceptional step'

The international furor over Zam's execution also comes at a hugely delicate time, with European powers keen to revive the international deal on the Iranian nuclear program when incoming US president Joe Biden takes office next year.

Iran's foreign ministry on Sunday summoned Germany and France's envoys to protest EU condemnation of his execution at the weekend.

In a blow to proponents of dialogue and trade with Iran, organizers postponed a major forum on business between Iran and Europe due to begin Monday.

The three-day Europe-Iran Business Forum was to have kicked off with keynote remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, followed by a panel with EU ambassadors.

"The organizing committee of the Europe-Iran Business Forum has decided to take the exceptional step of postponing the conference," the organizers said in a statement late Sunday.

"The European and Iranian business communities continue to see significant potential and value in commercial exchanges," they added, expressing hope the conference would take place in the near future.

The French foreign ministry had said on its Twitter account that following the "barbaric and unacceptable execution" of Zam its ambassador to Tehran, as well as those of Germany, Austria and Italy, were cancelling their participation in the forum.

"#nobusinessasusual," it said in a hashtag.

‘Tool of repression’

But speaking in Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani predicted relations between Iran and Europe would not suffer as a result of the execution.

"I don't think this issue will harm relations between Iran and Europe," Rouhani told reporters, noting that capital punishment is part of Iranian law.

Activists have argued the execution should focus global attention on the use of the death penalty in Iran, coming three months after the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari -- who was convicted of killing an official during protests -- caused widespread anger.

Iran executes more people every year than any country other than China.

Amnesty International said Zam was "abducted during a visit to Iraq in October 2019 by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, apparently with the assistance of Iraqi intelligence authorities, and forcibly returned to Iran."

Human Rights Watch researcher Tara Sepehri Far said in a statement the execution "shows the extent to which Iran has weaponized the cruel and inhumane use of the death penalty as a tool of repression."

Also Monday, the United States for the first time accused Iran of direct involvement in the "probable death" of former FBI agent Bob Levinson, who vanished 13 years ago, and imposed sanctions on two intelligence agents.

"We will not relent in pursuing those who played a role in his disappearance," said Pompeo.

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France Holds Day of Mourning for Mayotte Islands Devastated by Cyclone

French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
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France Holds Day of Mourning for Mayotte Islands Devastated by Cyclone

French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)

France held a national day of mourning for Mayotte, its Indian Ocean territory devastated by a violent cyclone on Dec. 14, beginning in the morning on Monday with a minute of silence for the scores of residents left dead by the storm.

Cyclone Chido was the worst storm to hit Mayotte's two main islands in 90 years, and authorities have said that perhaps thousands of people may have been killed in its wake, though the government's death toll stands at 35.

To commemorate Mayotte's losses, French flags were lowered to half-mast. Separately, flags were flown at half-mast in Brussels and Strasbourg because of Mayotte, as well as following attacks last week on a German Christmas market and in a Croatian school.

"It is a communion in mourning," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told reporters. He said the day showed solidarity for those in Mayotte, and that France was "present to reconstruct Mayotte and make sure the people of Mayotte feel surrounded by the entire country."

Following the storm, officials say corpses may have been buried quickly per religious custom, before they could be counted, and that many of the people killed may have been undocumented immigrants.

Mozambique has said 94 people died in the disaster, while 13 were killed in neighboring Malawi.

ANGER

The slow pace of aid and delays in the arrival of clean water have angered residents of Mayotte, France's poorest overseas territory located between Madagascar and Mozambique about 8,000 km (4971 miles) from the mainland, with some heckling President Emmanuel Macron during his visit last week.

For Mohamed Abdou, a doctor in Pamandzi, the day of French mourning was a political stunt and did not do enough to account for historic neglect leading up to this point.

"Whether in terms of hospitals, the lack of water infrastructure, electricity, and so on ... at this point, we need to say 'mea culpa' and acknowledge mistakes were made," he told Reuters, speaking from his town in the south of Mayotte's smaller island.

Francois-Noel Buffet, France's acting minister of overseas territories, told France 2 that water - a flashpoint even before the disaster - had made it to the island, saying: "We are not missing water. We have water, notably bottled water. We have a problem with distribution."

Buffet said he expected a special law on the reconstruction of Mayotte to be introduced in early January.

In Paris, Bayrou, France's fourth prime minister this year, is expected to unveil his cabinet Monday evening, though the timing was uncertain. The French presidency said the announcement would not take place before 6:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), to take into account the day of mourning.

Estelle Youssouffa, a lawmaker for Mayotte, criticized the government in an interview with Radio France Internationale for possibly making the announcement on the day of mourning, accusing Bayrou, who had not yet visited the islands, of "humiliating us a second time."