A Federal Foreign Office spokesperson issued the following statement today (12 December) on the execution of the blogger Ruhollah Zam:
The Federal Government is horrified about the execution of the blogger Ruhollah Zam carried out today in Iran. Our sympathy goes out to his family and friends. We are shocked by the circumstances surrounding the conviction, particularly by the preceding kidnapping from abroad. The Federal Government’s position on the death penalty is clear, namely that it is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment that we reject in all circumstances. We call upon Iran to respect the freedom of opinion of its citizens, to release all political prisoners and to refrain from handing down or carrying out further death penalties.
Background information:
The dissident and blogger Ruhollah Zam who had been granted asylum in France, was kidnapped abroad in unclear circumstances in October 2019 and shown a few days later on Iranian state television wearing a blindfold. In June 2020, he was sentenced to death by an Iranian revolutionary court. On 8 December, it was announced that the supreme court had upheld the death sentence.
The Federal Foreign Government is horrified about the execution of the blogger Ruhollah Zam carried out today in Iran. We are shocked by the circumstances surrounding the conviction, particularly by the preceding kidnapping from abroad. https://t.co/iGyGSfPTiR pic.twitter.com/OPGuvCyqnN
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) December 12, 2020