The German-Iranian Djamshid Sharmahd has been sentenced to death in Iran in a controversial trial. A revolutionary court in Tehran holds the 67-year-old responsible for a terrorist attack, among other things, as the justice portal Misan announced on Tuesday. The judgment can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The activist Sharmahd was reportedly arrested by the Iranian secret service in Dubai in the summer of 2020 and taken to Iran. Since then he has been imprisoned in Tehran. Sharmahd previously lived in the United States for years. His family and human rights groups have previously denied allegations against him.
Sharmahd was active in the exile opposition group “Tondar” (Thunder) in the USA, which advocates a return to the monarchy. Iran’s judiciary holds the organization responsible for an attack in a mosque in the city of Shiras in 2008 that killed several people. Three men have already been executed for it.
As an engineer and IT expert, Sharmahd also took part in a radio program run by the exile group. In 2019, the group’s website, which has since been deleted but can be accessed in archive form, stated that the radio show broadcasts content on politics and history, but also instructions on how to resist. Tondar denounced the persecution of its members by the Islamic Republic.
It is unclear whether Sharmahd can receive consular assistance from the German embassy in Tehran. Iran treats dual nationals legally like Iranians. Amnesty International previously described the trial as a show trial.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz announced in early January that he would take on Sharhmahd’s political sponsorship. “With my sponsorship, I want to set an example for all men and women who are fighting for a free, self-determined life in Iran,” said Merz’s Twitter account. “The world is watching what is happening in Iran.”
Several European nationals are currently detained in Iran, many of whom are also of Iranian nationality. Critics accuse Iran of holding foreign citizens as political hostages. Tehran denies the allegations and usually justifies the arrests with allegations of espionage.
