“Cruel, inhuman and degrading” – Foreign Minister Baerbock finds clear words for the death sentence against a German citizen. She accuses the Iranian of disregarding all diplomatic efforts. Tehran must now prepare for clear consequences.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has described Iran’s death sentence on the German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd as “absolutely unacceptable”. “Not only is the death penalty cruel, inhuman and degrading, Jamshid Sharmahd never had the slightest attempt at a fair trial,” Baerbock said in a statement published in Berlin. At the same time, the minister announced that the imposition of the death penalty would “result in a clear reaction”.
The Iranian judiciary had previously sentenced the 67-year-old to death on terrorism charges. Sharmahd did not have access to a freely chosen legal counsel, Baerbock explained. His “public display” was tantamount to prejudice. Since his arrest “under highly questionable circumstances,” the federal government has repeatedly supported Sharmahd. “These intensive efforts were disregarded by Iran, and we were repeatedly denied consular access and access to the trial dates,” explained the minister. She called on Iran to correct the verdict and refrain from the death penalty.
Iran announced Sharmahd’s arrest in August 2020. According to his family, the 67-year-old German-Iranian, who last lived in the United States, was kidnapped by the Iranian secret service during a stopover in Dubai and taken to Iran. His trial began in February 2022.
In particular, the Iranian judiciary accuses Sharmahd of being involved in an attack on a mosque in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in April 2008, which killed 14 people.
Born in Tehran, Sharmahd grew up in Germany and emigrated to the United States in 2003. He belongs to the opposition group Tondar (English: Thunder), also known as the “Kingdom Assembly of Iran”. She rejects the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and supports the reintroduction of the monarchy in the country.