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Iran executed 69-year-old German-Iranian political scientist Jamshid Sharmahd on Monday, sparking outrage in Germany and across the globe, the Guardian reported.
Sharmahd, an Iran-born German citizen residing in the United States, was accused of orchestrating a deadly bombing in Iran in 2008. He was also accused of leading the Tondar group, which Iran classifies as a terrorist organization aiming to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
According to his family, Iranian officials seized Sharmahd when he was traveling via the United Arab Emirates in 2020. Iran law enforcement claimed at the time they had captured him in a “complex operation,” but did not provide other details.
Sharmahd was sentenced to death in February 2023, for the offense of “corruption on earth,” which carries the death penalty, which was later confirmed by the Iranian supreme court. Sharmahd and his family maintained his innocence, with human rights groups and Western governments condemning his trial as a sham, reported the New York Times.
While Iran has executed many opponents of the government, the case of Sharmahd drew international attention because of his German citizenship and residency in the US.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the execution “shows once again what kind of inhumane regime rules in Tehran: a regime that uses death against its youth, its own population, and foreign nationals.” She added that “the execution of a German national would have serious consequences.”
The case has garnered attention from human rights groups such as the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR), which called the execution of Sharmahd “a case of extrajudicial killing of a hostage aimed at covering up the recent failures of the hostage-takers of the Islamic Republic.”
Iran has executed at least 627 people this year, according to IHR.
Rights groups have accused Iran of using capital punishment as a tool to instill fear in society, reported the BBC.
A number of other Europeans are still being held captive in Iran. European Parliament lawmaker member Hannah Neumann, who chairs the Iran delegation, called for a total change of the European Union’s policy towards the Iranian government following this incident.
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