Iran said Tuesday that Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd, who had been sentenced to death for terrorism, died last week before he could be executed.
“Jamshid Sharmahd was sentenced to death, his execution was imminent, but he died before it could take place,” judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir told reporters in Tehran, without further details. .
On October 28, Iran announced the execution of this 69-year-old man, causing a diplomatic crisis with Berlin, which closed the three Iranian consulates in Germany.
He was sentenced to death in February 2023 by a court in Tehran for his alleged involvement in an attack on a mosque in Shiraz, in the south of Iran, which left 14 dead in April 2008.
Germany, which then deemed this sentence “absolutely unacceptable”, expelled two Iranian diplomats stationed in Berlin in retaliation. Iran had taken a similar measure against two German diplomats stationed in Tehran.
Iran does not recognize dual nationality for its nationals.
In 2020, Iran announced the arrest of the dissident who was then residing in the United States, during a “complex operation”, without specifying where, how or when he was arrested.
According to his family, he was kidnapped by Iranian security services while in transit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and forcibly returned to Iran.
Born in Tehran, Jamshid Sharmahd emigrated to Germany in the 1980s and lived in the United States from 2003. He was notably distinguished by hostile statements against the Islamic Republic on satellite channels in Persian.
Jamshid Sharmahd was also accused of leading the Tondar group, described as a “terrorist” organization by Iran.
The Tondar (“Thunder” in Persian) group, also known as the Monarchist Association of Iran, claims to want to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
Iranian justice also accused Jamshid Sharmahd of having established contacts with “FBI and CIA officers” and of having “attempted to contact Israeli Mossad agents”.
In recent years, Iran has executed several dual nationals.
