Shafaq News / Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani office announced that his representative met with the head of the head of the Iranian judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, 50 days before the execution of Ruhollah Zam, director of the Amadnews channel.

According to the Shafaqna News Agency, Jawad al-Shahristani, Sistani's son-in-law and representative in Iran, met on October 21st with the head of the Iranian judiciary.

A statement by Sistani's office did not give any further details about the meeting.

It is noteworthy that the Sistani's office announcement comes 6 days after the execution of Ruhollah Zam.

The Iranian dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was convicted of fomenting violence during anti-government protests in 2017, was executed on Saturday, Iran’s state television reported.

France reacted with anger to the hanging of the Paris-based journalist, which it called “barbaric and unacceptable” and said ran counter to Iran’s international obligations.

Iran said on Tuesday its Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence against Zam, who was captured in 2019 after years of living in exile in France. His Amadnews feed had more than 1 million followers.

State TV said Zam, “director of the counter-revolutionary Amadnews network, was hanged this morning”.

The French foreign ministry said in a statement: “France condemns in the strongest possible terms this serious breach of free expression and press freedom in Iran. This is a barbaric and unacceptable act that goes against the country’s international commitments.”

Press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the execution.

In October 2019, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had trapped Zam in a “complex operation using intelligence deception”. It did not say where the operation took place.