Iran confirms death sentence of German dual national

German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd’s death penalty has been upheld, following a court hearing on Wednesday.

Sharmahd was handed the death penalty in February, when he was conviced of involvement in a deadly 2008 attack in Shiraz that killed 14 people, by an Iranian court.

“The sentence has been confirmed by the Supreme Court. After the lower court is notified, actions will subsequently be taken to implement the Supreme Court’s decision,” said judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Iran’s decision was “unacceptable,” adding that the 68-year-old “at no time had the beginnings of a fair trial.”

Baerbock said Germany’s ambassador in Iran was rushed back to Tehran to intervene with authorities after cutting short his business trip.

Why was Sharmahd accused?

Sharmahd was arrested in 2020 on allegations of being the leader of “the terrorist Tondar group, who directed armed and terrorist acts in Iran from America,” according to the Iranian intelligence ministry at the time.

Tondar group is based in Los Angeles and says it seeks to restore the Western-backed monarchy that ruled Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Prior to his detention, the 68-year old Sharmahd had been residing in California. He was given a death penalty in February and accused of being in contact with “FBI and CIA officers” and of having “attempted to contact Israeli Mossad agents”.

Iranian-German citizen sentenced to death in Iran

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In response to the death sentence, Germany ordered two employees of the Iranian Embassy in Berlin to leave the country . Last month, Iran also expelled two German diplomats.

His family denied that Sharmahd was involved in any attacks and was only a spokesperson for Tondar. They have said that Sharmahd was kidnapped by the Iranian authorities in Dubai and brought to Iran.

According to the judiciary, three dual nationals including Sharmahd have been given the death penalty or executed since the start of the year.

In January, Iran executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari on spying charges, provoking international uproar.

vh/jcg (Reuters, AFP, AP)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/iran-confirms-death-sentence-of-german-dual-national/a-65442960?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom