An Iranian-German dissident, kidnapped and forcibly taken to Iran according to his relatives, was sentenced to death on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in an attack, a decision described as “unacceptable” by Germany.

67-year-old Jamshid Sharmahd appeared in court in Tehran in February 2022 on charges of involvement in an attack on a mosque in Shiraz, southern Iran, which killed 14 people in April 2008. .

“Jamshid Sharmahd, the leader of the Tondar terrorist group, has been sentenced to death for corruption on earth while planning and directing terrorist actions,” the Iranian judicial authority agency Mizan Online announced.

The justice also accused him of having established contacts with “FBI and CIA officers” and of having “attempted to contact Israeli Mossad agents”.

Supporters of Mr. Sharmahd in Germany had rejected these accusations, urging Berlin to “act immediately” to “save [his] life”.

Germany called the condemnation “absolutely unacceptable”. “The application of the death penalty to Mr. Sharmahd will provoke a significant reaction,” warned Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The dissident’s family said they feared the same fate as Iranian opponent Ruhollah Zam, a refugee in France, who was hanged in December 2020 in Iran after leaving Paris for Iraq, where his supporters claim that he was arrested by the Iranian authorities.

Jamshid Sharmahd’s death sentence was handed down by a lower court and can therefore be appealed to the Supreme Court, Mizan Online reported.

Iran announced in August 2020 the arrest of the dissident, who then resided in the United States, during a “complex operation”, without specifying where or how or when he was arrested.

According to his family, he was abducted by Iranian security services while in transit in Dubai and forcibly brought to Iran.

“They kidnapped Jamshid Sharmahd and now they are sending him to die after a sham trial,” Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), said on Tuesday. “In fact, the Islamic Republic is simply threatening to kill a hostage,” he said.

“The treatment of Jamshid Sharmahd demonstrates the disregard for fundamental human rights that is entrenched in the Iranian authorities,” Amnesty International said.

Born in Tehran, Mr. Sharmahd emigrated to Germany in the 1980s and has lived since 2003 in the United States, where he notably distinguished himself by statements hostile to the Islamic Republic on satellite channels in Persian.

Also known as the Monarchist Association of Iran, the Tondar (“Thunder” in Persian) group claims to want to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

Tehran caused a wave of international indignation after in January executing a former defense official, the Iranian-Briton Alireza Akbari, convicted of espionage.

On December 6, justice announced the death sentence of the Iranian-Swedish opponent Habib Farjollah Chaab, also known as Habib Asyud, for corruption on earth. Leader of the ASMLA group (Arab Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz), considered a terrorist movement by the Iranian authorities, he disappeared in October 2020 after going to Istanbul and before reappearing a month later. later detained in Iran.

Mr. Chaab was accused of having “planned and carried out terrorist actions” which resulted in the death of more than 30 people in two attacks in 2006 and 2018.

Another Iranian-Swedish opponent, Ahmadreza Djalali, also risks being hanged. This academic was arrested during a visit to Iran in April 2016 and sentenced to death in 2017 for spying for Israel. According to his family, he is still on death row.

The death sentence for Jamshid Sharmahd was announced the day after new European Union sanctions against Iran. Two Iranian ministers and 30 other people were sanctioned on Monday by the EU for the suppression of demonstrations in Iran organized since the death in custody, on September 16, of a young Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini.

At least 16 Western passport holders, including six French, are being held in Iran.

Most of them are dual nationals but Iran does not recognize dual nationality status for its nationals.

21/02/2023 16:39:39 –         Berlin (AFP)           © 2023 AFP