IRAN’S clerical regime has been accused of silencing dissent after the execution of journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was hanged in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warned that the killing has seen “Iranian authorities join the company of criminal gangs and violent extremists who silence journalists by murdering them.”

Its spokesman for the region Sherif Mansour said: “This is a monstrous and shameful act, and one which the international community must not let pass unnoticed.”

Amnesty International said: “His execution is a deadly blow to freedom of expression in Iran and shows the extent of the Iranian authorities’ brutal tactics to instil fear and deter dissent.”

Mr Zam was accused of stoking anti-government protests that started in late 2017 as an economic crisis started to bite.

Thousands have been killed and arrested by Iranian security services in a clampdown on growing dissent and calls for the government to resign.

Mr Zam escaped the country during the 2009 green movement protests and was granted asylum in France. From there he ran the Amad News portal which had more than one million followers.

He was abducted during a visit to Iraq before being transferred to Iran where he was sentenced to death.