Jamshid Sharmahd

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Jamshid Sharmahd
جمشید شارمهد
Sharmahd in 2019
Born (1955-03-23) 23 March 1955 (age 69)
Tehran, Tehran Province, Imperial State of Iran
Citizenship
  • Germany
  • Iran
EducationSoftware engineering, Information technology
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • software engineer

Jamshid Sharmahd (Persian: جمشید شارمهد; born 23 March 1955 in Tehran, Iran) is a German and Iranian journalist and software engineer.[1][2]

A permanent resident of the United States since 2003, Sharmahd has been targeted by the Iranian government for his connections to Tondar, an Iranian opposition movement. Since his kidnapping by Iranian agents in 2020, Sharmahd has been held in solitary confinement by Iran in a forced disappearance. In a 2023 trial condemned by Amnesty International, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the European Council, Sharmahd was sentenced to death.

Biography[edit]

Jamshid Sharmahd was born in Tehran in 1955. When he was seven years old, he moved with his father to Hanover, West Germany, where he grew up in a German-Iranian household.[3] He has been a German citizen since 1995.[3] He studied to become an electrician, and in 1980 briefly returned to Iran where he got married. In 1982, he returned to West Germany with his wife and daughter.[citation needed]

Sharmahd established his own software company and in 2003 moved to the United States, where he was a permanent resident with a green card.[4] He has been living in Los, Angeles, California since 2003.[5][6] Sharmahd has Parkinson's disease.[1]

In 2007, a "massive cyber attack" publicly exposed his contributions to the website of Tondar,[7] an opposition group viewed by Iran as a terrorist organization.[8] This led to targeted harassment and assassination attempts against him by the Iranian government.[8] In 2009, agents of the Islamic regime of Iran attempted an assassination of Sharmahd in Glendora, California, which was foiled by U.S. officials. This information was made public by a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable.[9] Sharmahd helped operate Tondar's Los Angeles–based television and radio programming,[8] and operated a satellite radio station accessible in Iran.[1]

Kidnapping[edit]

In late July 2020, secret agents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence kidnapped Sharmahd in Dubai, taking him to Iran.[5][10] The Iranian government alleged that Sharmahd was responsible for a 2008 attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 14 people and injured 200. However, the regime-controlled media outlet Fars News quoted the Iranian National Security Council in 2008 as saying, "The explosion of a bomb or any explosion carried out by opposition elements, be they internal or foreign, is ruled out. The blast was caused by some munitions used in an exhibition for the Iran–Iraq War martyrs in the mosque."[11] Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that "Mr. Sharmahd is being deprived of his liberty as a result of exercising the right to freedom of opinion and expression."[12] Sharmahd and his family denied all charges.[13][14][15] Sharmahd's abduction was one of a series of kidnappings carried out by the government of Iran.[16][17][18]

In February 2023, Sharmahd was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran under charges of "corruption on earth" following a "grossly unfair trial", as described by Amnesty International.[19][20] He was repeatedly denied access to the German consulate and access to trials.[21] German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said Sharmahd "never had even the semblance of a fair trial."[22] In response to the sentence, Germany expelled two Iranian diplomats.[22]

In 2022, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) released a 13-page document confirming Sharmahd's kidnapping, forced disappearance, human rights violations, and torture.[23] In January 2023, Friedrich Merz, the chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, took over the political sponsorship for Sharmahd.[24] Merz attempted to travel to Iran to verify the health of Sharmahd, but Iranian authorities denied him a visa. Merz repeatedly demanded the unconditional release of Sharmahd and "expects the German government to significantly step up its efforts to release Jamshid Sharmahd."[25] In April 2023, the European Council publicly condemned the death sentence of Sharmahd.[26]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c O'Callaghan, Laura (18 January 2023). "Fears for German man on death row in Iran as his US family say 'Biden is failing us'". The National News.
  2. ^ "Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Sentenced to Death for Songs Critical of Government". Rolling Stones (in German). 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Jamshid Sharmahd ist Opfer eines manipulativen Schauprozesses" [Jamshid Sharmahd is the victim of a manipulative show trial]. International Society for Human Rights (in German). 24 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  4. ^ Steinmetz, Juergen T. (4 August 2020). "German Citizen from Glendora, California abducted by Iran Ministry in Dubai". eTurboNews.
  5. ^ a b Weinthal, Benjamin (25 July 2022). "'Death sentence certain' for German-Iranian journalist". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  6. ^ O'Callaghan, Laura (18 January 2023). "Fears for German man on death row in Iran as his US family say 'Biden is failing us'". The National News. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  7. ^ Somerville, Hannah (19 November 2021). "One Year After Abduction, Jamshid Sharmahd's Family Vows to Fight On". IranWire | خانه. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Audi, Tamara (10 May 2010). "U.S.-Iran Feud Hits L.A." Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Wikileaks unveils assassination attempt by Islamic Republic of Iran". CNN. 21 February 2011.
  10. ^ Halpern, Sam (22 February 2023). "Kidnapped German-Iranian journalist Jamshid Sharmahd to be executed". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  11. ^ Weinthal, Benjamin (19 July 2022). "California man faces execution in Iran for being a journalist". Fox News.
  12. ^ "California man faces execution in Iran for being a journalist" (PDF). Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 31 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |organization= ignored (help)
  13. ^ OstanWire (26 July 2022). "Abducted Californian Jamshid Sharmahd Denies Charges in Final Court Hearing in Iran".
  14. ^ Vahdat, Amir; Gambrell, Jon (2 August 2020). "Iran says it detains leader of California-based exile group". Associated Press.
  15. ^ Gambrell, Jon (4 August 2020). "Family tells AP: Iran abducted California man while in Dubai". Associated Press.
  16. ^ Borger, Julian (14 July 2021). "Iran 'spies' charged in plot to kidnap US journalist and speed her to Venezuela". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Why Iran abducted and hanged Ruhollah Zam". The Economist. 16 December 2020. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  18. ^ Azizi, Arash (12 January 2021). "Opinion | Why Is Iran Kidnapping and Executing Dissidents?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  19. ^ Gritten, David (21 February 2022). "Iran sentences German-Iranian dissident to death". BBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  20. ^ International, Amnesty (3 April 2023). "Tortured German-Iranian sentenced to death: Jamshid Sharmahd". Amnesty International. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  21. ^ Gritten, David (22 February 2023). "Germany expels 2 Iranian diplomats over death sentence". Associated Press News. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Germany Expels Iranian Diplomats in Response to Death Sentence for German Citizen". Voice of America News. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its ninety-third session 30 March–8 April 2022" (PDF). Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 31 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Friedrich Merz übernimmt politische Patenschaft für den inhaftierten Deutsch-Iraner Jamshid Sharmahd". CDU/CSU. 9 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Friedrich Merz fordert Freilassung von Jamshid Sharmahd aus iranischer Haft". RND. 18 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Iran: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the confirmation of the death sentence against Jamshid Sharmahd by Iranian court". European Council. 23 April 2023.
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