Iran sentenced to death a journalist whose online work helped to inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017.
Ruhollah Zam ran a channel on messaging app Telegram that spread the times of the protests, which began after a sudden increase in food prices.
Embarrassing videos and information about Iranian officials were also posted on his website, AmadNews.
Iran's judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced the sentence on Tuesday, saying Zam was convicted of “corruption on Earth".
That charge is often used in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran’s government.
Zam was living in exile in Paris and was arrested after returning to Iran.
He appeared in a series of televised confessions in recent months.
The 2017 protests, which set the stage for mass unrest in November last year, led to criticism of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, which could be heard in videos shared by Zam.
Telegram shut his channel down after the Iranian government claimed it spread information about how to make petrol bombs, but the channel continued under a different name.
Zam, who said he fled Iran after being falsely accused of working with foreign intelligence services, denied inciting violence at the time.
At least 25 people were killed during the demonstrations and about 5,000 were detained.
Zam is the son of Shiite cleric Mohammad Ali Zam, a reformist who served in a government policy position in the early 1980s.
The cleric wrote a letter published by Iranian media in July 2017 in which he said he wouldn’t support his son over AmadNews’ reporting and messages on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Mr Esmaili said an appeals court upheld a prison sentence for Fariba Adelkhah a prominent researcher with dual French-Iranian citizenship.
Mr Esmaili said she got two separate sentences, a five and a one-year prison terms on security charges and that under Iranian law, the longer sentence is the one served.
He said her time spent in jail will count towards the sentence.
Last July, Iranian officials said Ms Adelkhah was arrested on espionage charges. Those charges were dropped but security-related charges remained against her.
Ms Adelkhah and her French fellow researcher, Roland Marchal, were held in Iran’s Evin Prison. Authorities released Mr Marchal in March in an apparent prisoner swap for Iranian Jalal Ruhollahnejad, who was held in France.
Iran, which does not recognise dual nationality for its citizens, has a track record of detaining dual nationals or those with ties to the West.
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Rating: 4/5
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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More on animal trafficking
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
