IRAN - Jamshid Sharmahd sentenced to death

IRAN - Jamshid Sharmahd

23 February 2023 :

(February 20, 2023) - Jamshid Sharmahd sentenced to death
Jamshid Sharmahd, a 67-year-old Iranian-German dissident kidnapped from the UAE by Islamic Republic agents in July 2020, has been sentenced to death for corruption charges without due process or a fair trial.
Mizan New Agency, which is affiliated with the regime judiciary, announced Monday that Sharmahd has been sentenced to death.
Sharmahd, who is also a US resident, is accused by Tehran of heading a pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing and planning other attacks in the country.
In the bombing on a mosque in Shiraz 14 people were killed and 200 more were wounded, but Sharmahd and his family vehemently deny the accusation.
"His verdict can still be appealed in the supreme court," the agency added.
Sharmahd, the director of Tondar opposition group, has been held in solitary confinement for many days and he was denied an independent attorney and fair legal procedures.
The news of Sharmahd’s kidnapping in Dubai and his transfer to Tehran by Islamic Republic agents was first released in August 2020.
Based in Los Angeles, the little-known Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar, says it seeks to restore the Iranian monarchy that was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution. It runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations abroad.
The death sentence for Sharmahd comes as Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday confirmed indirect talks with the United States over prisoner exchange through intermediaries.
The Islamic Republic is holding several Western prisoners in what human rights organizations have dubbed hostage diplomacy.
Strongly condemning the death sentence, Iran Human Rights also criticises the international community’s relative silence on his abduction, torture and trial by the unlawful Revolutionary Court.
Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Kidnapping and threatening to kill Jamshid Sharmahd based on an unlawful sentence is the Islamic Republic’s attempt to blackmail the European Union with the aim of easing the political pressure. Germany and the European community must react decisively to this terrorist act."
“Any flexibility shown against the Islamic Republic’s terrorism will further endanger the life of Sharmahd and other dual-nationals held hostage by the Islamic Republic,” he added.
Kidnapping dissidents from neighbouring countries is becoming common practice. Iran Human Rights previously warned that “Failure by the international community to respond adequately to these unlawful acts will lead to its normalisation.”
Reiterating that there are no fair trial standards in the Islamic Republic and that the interrogation process is based on torture-tainted confessions, Iran Human Rights calls on the international community to intervene to save Jamshid Sharmahd’s life and prevent further abduction of dissidents.
Jamshid Sharmahd is a German-Iranian dissident activist who was kidnapped on a layover in Dubai when flying to the United States, his country of residence, from India. He last spoke to his wife on 28 July 2020. On 1 August, Minister of Intelligence and Security Mahmoud Alavi announced on state television that Jamshid Sharmahd had been arrested “following a complex operation” and aired a video of him stating his name while blindfolded with a black cloth. Charges related to a 2010 Mosque bombing, for which three men had already been executed, were brought against him.
After being held in pre-trial detention for over a year and a half, his first hearing was held on 6 February 2022. Presided by Judge Salavati, a “hanging judge” on the US sanctions list, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court held multiple hearings on the accusations of “efsad- fil-arz by planning and directing terrorist acts”, including the 2010 bombing. He was sentenced to death today. Jamshid has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest and denied legal representation, due process and the right to a fair trial.
Kidnapping dissidents from neighbouring countries is becoming common practice. Iran Human Rights previously warned that “Failure by the international community to respond adequately to these unlawful acts will lead to its normalisation.”
Arresting political dissidents outside of Iran is not unprecedented. Ruhollah Zam, the director of Amad News Telegram channel, was arrested in Iraq in October 2019 and transported to Iran. He was executed on 12 December 2020. Iranian-Swedish dissident, Habib Chaab was also kidnapped from Turkey in October 2020 and tried for corruption charges. He’s currently awaiting sentencing.
On Sharmahd’s case see also HoC August 4, 2020, November 1, 2020, December 12, 2020, April 27, 2021.