First Trial Session of Ruhollah Zam Held in Tehran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The first trial session of Ruhollah Zam, the head of an anti-Iranian website and Telegram channel, was held on Monday.
The court hearing was held at the branch 15 of Tehran's Revolution Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati.
At the beginning of the hearing, the prosecutor's representative read out parts of the indictment against the defendant.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced, in a statement back in October, that in a “complicated” operation, it had managed to arrest Zam, the administrator of a website “directed and supported by France’s intelligence service”.
The IRGC emphasized that Zam had been running extensive psychological warfare in recent years with direct logistical support of foreign intelligence services and counter-revolutionary agents outside the country in order to sow discord inside Iran, stoke Iranophobia, disseminate lies, foment doubt among the younger generation about religious beliefs, prepare the ground for acts of violence and terror and create chaos and unrest inside the country.
“This evil mercenary element” was busted during a “sophisticated” intelligence operation, according to the IRGC statement.
“Despite being under the guidance of the French intelligence service and the support of the US and Zionist intelligence services…, and being guarded round the clock by various means and covers, he fell into a trap laid by… the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization,” the statement read.
Amadnews was suspended by the messaging app Telegram in 2018 after Iran accused it of carrying calls for violence during protests that started in late 2017 and continued across the country. But the channel soon reappeared under a new name.