Iran summons French and German envoys over criticism of journalist's execution

Iran has summoned the envoys of Germany and France over their criticism of the execution of an opposition journalist.

The foreign ministry voiced Iran's protest to the two ambassadors over French and EU criticism of the execution on Saturday of dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who had been based in Paris before he was captured in Iraq and taken to Iran.

Zam was convicted in June this year of fomenting violence during anti-government protests in 2017. His Amadnews feed had more than one million followers.

The EU said in a statement after his execution: "The European Union condemns this act in the strongest terms and recalls once again its irrevocable opposition to the use of capital punishment under any circumstances."

The French foreign ministry called the execution a "barbaric and unacceptable act," saying in a statement: "France condemns in the strongest possible terms this serious breach of free expression and press freedom in Iran."

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Iranian state television said the "counter-revolutionary" Zam was hanged on Saturday morning after the supreme court upheld his sentence due to "the severity of the crimes" committed against the Islamic republic.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili had on Tuesday said Zam's sentence was upheld by the supreme court "more than a month ago".

Amnesty International and press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the execution.

Iranian officials have accused the United States, as well as Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia and government opponents living in exile, of stoking unrest that began in late 2017 as regional protests over economic hardship spread nationwide.

Officials said 21 people were killed during the unrest and thousands were arrested.

The unrest was among the worst Iran has seen in decades, and was followed by even deadlier protests last year against fuel price rises.