Iranian-German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd sentenced to death

Tehran: Iranian-German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd has been sentenced to death by a court in Tehran after being accused of organizing a bomb attack in 2008.

The 67-year-old also has US residency and was arrested in August 2020, convicted of “corruption on earth” for leading a pro-monarchy group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing and of planning other attacks across the country, the judiciary’s Mizan Online

As per media reports, Jamshid main charge is masterminding the 2008 bombing of a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz, which killed 14 people and injured hundreds. He was also found guilty of communicating with US and Israeli officials and agents.

Germany on Tuesday condemned the announcement.

“The death sentence for Jamshid Sharmahd is absolutely unacceptable,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted promising a “strong reaction” to the court’s decision.

“Not only is the death penalty cruel, inhuman and degrading, but Jamshid Sharmahd has never had anything close to a fair trial,” Baerbock said.

In January 2023, Iran sentenced a Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for spying for the United States, money laundering and currency smuggling.

Also in January, Iran executed former Defense Minister Alireza Akbari, a British-Iranian convicted in Tehran of spying for MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence agency, and accused of involvement in the assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.