IIn Iran, a German-Iranian, Jamshid Sharmahd, was sentenced to death in a controversial trial. A revolutionary court in Tehran holds the 67-year-old responsible for a terrorist attack, among other things, Justice Gate Maysan announced on Tuesday. The ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
German Foreign Minister Annalina Berbock (Green Party) described the death sentence as „totally unacceptable”. „Not only is the death penalty cruel, inhuman and degrading, Jamshid Sharhad was not subjected to the slightest attempt at a fair trial,” Barbock said in a statement on Tuesday in Berlin. Meanwhile, the minister announced that the imposition of the death penalty would „cause a clear reaction.”
Sharmahd had publicly criticized the Iranian regime and was kidnapped to Iran from a hotel in Dubai in July 2020. Since then, he has been held in solitary confinement at an unknown location. In February of last year, he appeared before the notorious Revolutionary Court No. 15 in Tehran. Accusation: „corruption on earth.”
Sharmahd previously lived in the United States for years. His family and human rights groups have previously denied the allegations against him. In the United States, Sharhad was active in the exiled opposition group Tender (Thunder), which advocates a return to the monarchy. The Iranian regime holds the organization responsible for an attack on a mosque in the city of Shiraz in 2008 that killed several people. Three men have already been executed for it.
As an engineer and IT expert, Sharmahd also participated in a radio show run by the Exile Group. In 2019, the group’s website, which has since been taken down but can be accessed in archive form, stated that the radio show aired content on politics and history, but also instructions on how to resist. Tondar denounced the Islamic Republic’s persecution of its members.
It is not clear if Sharmahd can receive consular assistance from the German Embassy in Tehran. Iran treats legally dual nationals as Iranians. Amnesty International had earlier described the trial as a sham trial.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz announced in early January that he would take over Sharmahmed’s political patronage. „Through my sponsorship, I want to set an example for all men and women who are fighting for a free and self-determined life in Iran,” Merz’s Twitter account said. The world is watching what is happening in Iran.
Free Democratic Party politician wants tougher sanctions against Iran after death sentence
The head of the Human Rights Committee of the Bundestag, Renata Alt (FDP), has strongly criticized the German-Iranian’s death sentence. “The death sentence against Jamshid Sharhad shows once again how cruel and inhuman the Iranian judiciary is. Sharmahd is innocent and must be acquitted immediately.” „These inhumane policies of the mullahs’ regime show the urgent need to impose tougher sanctions on Iran,” she added.
Several European citizens are currently being held in Iran, many of whom also hold Iranian citizenship. Critics accuse Iran of holding foreign nationals as political hostages. Tehran denies the allegations and often justifies the arrests with allegations of espionage.