The message was widely shared on social media in Persian and English. Zam's mother was referring to a report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency that said the body of Ruhollah Zam had been left on the gallows for 20 minutes until the arrival of the head of the Karaj police force, who had arrived late at the execution site. Zam was the founder of the independent Amad News website and Telegram channel, and had been targeted by Iranian security services for his negative coverage of Iran, in particular his reporting on protests in late 2017.