German-Iranian citizen executed in Iran on terrorism charges

Jamshid Sharmagd, a German-Iranian dual citizen, was executed in Iran on charges of involvement in a 2008 terrorist attack. The human rights group Amnesty International said that his "confession" was coerced. This was reported by Deutsche Welle, UNN writes.

Details

Iranian state media reported that Jamshid Sharmagd was executed on Monday after being convicted last year.

Sharmagd, 69, was a resident of California. Iranian authorities kidnapped him, probably in Dubai, and sentenced him to death in February 2023 by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Iran on charges related to his involvement in the deadly 2008 attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 14 people.

However, the official verdict in Iran was for a much more vague Iranian criminal offense - spreading "corruption on Earth," which is a catch-all phrase used by the Islamic regime to refer to a range of  alleged crimes, often related to religious values.

Iran also accused him of contacting "FBI and CIA officers" and "trying to contact Israeli Mossad agents.

Tehran accused Sharmaghd of being "the leader of the Tondar terrorist group, who directed armed and terrorist acts in Iran from America". The little-known Tondar group, the armed wing of the Assembly of the Kingdom of Iran, is based in California and claims to seek to restore the monarchy in Iran, which was overthrown as a result of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Germany, the EU, and other countries called on Iran to cancel the death sentence. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell condemned Sharmaghd's execution.

The EU strongly opposes the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. It is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate denial of human dignity. We share the grief of the family and friends and express our solidarity with the German government, with whom we are in contact. The EU is considering measures in response

The human rights organization Amnesty International in its reports on the case called the trial "grossly unfair". In a report on the initial verdict in April last year, Amnesty stated that Sharmagd was denied access to an independent lawyer of his own choosing, and claimed that the services of the state-appointed lawyer were inadequate.

Recall

According to the UN Human Rights Office, more than 200 people were executed in Iran in the first half of last year alone. On average, more than 10 people are executed every week in Iran. The UN noted that this is one of the highest rates in the world.

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