DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Iranian founder of a Farsi-language satellite television network was shot dead in Istanbul alongside a Kuwaiti business partner, Turkish media reported Sunday, just months after reportedly being convicted of spreading "propaganda" against the Islamic Republic. — Reuters picGEM TV founder Saeed Karimian and an associate were driving in Istanbul’s Maslak neighbourhood after 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) yesterday when their car was blocked by a jeep and shots were fired, Dogan said. The network, which has 17 Persian-language channels, dubs foreign and Western programs into Farsi (Persian) and broadcasts them into Iran, despite criticism by the Tehran government for showing programs that allegedly defy Islamic values and “spread Western culture.” The network also has a channel in Kurdish, Azeri and Arabic. The assassination followed an alleged Iranian court decision in March to sentence Karimian to sentence him to prison for making “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic.”

GEM TV was first initially established in London and then expanded to Dubai.
Saeed Karimian, the founder and director of GEM TV, a Persian language network based in Dubai, is shot dead in Istanbul, Turkey, along with his Kuwaiti business partner. Karimian had previously been tried in absentia by a Tehran court and sentenced to six years in prison for spreading propaganda against Iran.