Iran’s judiciary said German- Iranian activist Jamshid Sharmahd died ahead of his execution. On October 28, the Judiciary News Agency announced that Sharmahd, who was sentenced to death in 2023 on charges of “corruption on earth”, had been “punished for his actions”. Human rights organizations strongly opposed his trial, which they called grossly unfair.
On Tuesday, judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told reporters that “preparations were made to carry out his sentence, but he died before it could be carried out.” He did not give more information in this regard.
Sharmahad’s daughter, Gazelle, found none of the Iranian authorities’ statements credible and called for an independent international investigation. She accused Germany and the US of “failed policies, evasion of responsibility and serious indifference”. “Now they should find my father, send him back to Germany and then America and start an investigation,” she said.
On her behalf, she alleged that her father was detained for four years, tortured, isolated and deprived of his basic rights. “Any reason to die under these circumstances is premeditated murder and a declaration of war against all of Europe and America,” she said.
German officials blamed Sharmahd’s death, saying, “Jamshid Sharmahd was abducted by Iran and held incommunicado for years, violated human rights and denied necessary medical treatment. Iran is responsible for his death.” German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock closed three Iranian consulates in Germany and recalled the German ambassador from Tehran last week.
In view of this, Jahangir condemned the German objections and said, “Iran’s judiciary is an independent institution and does not accept the interference of any foreign country in its judicial affairs.”
Jamshid Sharmahd was indicted by Iranian authorities for the 2008 bombing of a mosque in Shiraz and other attacks in Iran. Technicians have accused Sharmahd of involvement in those attacks, but he has categorically denied it.
His family and Gazelle believe they were kidnapped from Dubai in July 2020 and brought to Iran. Subsequently, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced in August that Sharmahd had been arrested after a “difficult operation”, but did not provide details. Before that, a video of him was released in which he was blindfolded and confessed to various crimes.
At the same time, Iran’s judiciary announced that it had sentenced three people to death for the 2020 murder of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Fakhrizadeh was killed by a remote- controlled weapon near Tehran, and Iran blamed Israel for it.
According to Jahangir, the three accused were “acting as spies for the Israeli regime and bringing equipment to Iran under the guise of smuggled liquor to assassinate Fakhrizadeh.”