An American fugitive, accused of murdering an aide to the late Shah of Iran in the United States, was made an editor of Iran’s English-language television network in Tehran.
Hassan Abdulrahman, who is wanted by the FBI for shooting dead Ali Akbar Tabatabai in Maryland, worked for Iran’s flagship broadcaster Press TV, which has bureaus across the world, including London.
A Press TV journalist who resigned in protest over the channel’s coverage of the apparently rigged Iranian election in June told The Times yesterday that Mr Abdulrahman was chief editor at the head office of the network. The journalist, who wanted to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that Mr Abdulrahman showed no remorse when quizzed by staff about murdering Mr Tabatabai.
“Knowing that a person wanted by the FBI for murder was influencing the editorial line of the network and choosing the stories people around the world would watch didn’t seem right to me,” the journalist said.
