DUBAI: A Turkish newspaper is reporting that the Iranian founder of a Farsi-language satellite television network has been shot dead in Istanbul along with a Kuwaiti business partner.
The shooting death late yesterday of Saeed Karimian of GEM TV comes after an Iranian court reportedly sentenced him to prison in March for making "propaganda" against the country.
Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported Karimian was shot dead after an SUV blocked off his car and those inside opened fire. The newspaper says the SUV was later found abandoned and burned.
Phone numbers for GEM rang unanswered today.
The private Dogan news agency identified the dead Kuwaiti by the initials MM Kuwait's state-run KUNA news agency, quoting the consul general in Istanbul, confirmed a Kuwaiti citizen was gunned down, without elaborating.