The mullah regime’s final death sentence: a declaration of war on the western US with new military aid of more than $460 million – the nightly update without photos

The German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd, who was active in the Iranian opposition in exile, is dragged to the gallows for alleged involvement in a terrorist attack. In the closed-door trial before a revolutionary court, Sharmahd was not allowed to choose a lawyer or see the charges against him. Nevertheless, the death sentence was pronounced.

The Iranian judiciary has held Sharmahd’s opposition group Tondar responsible for a 2008 attack in the city of Shiraz that killed 14 people. The death sentence can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Iran, the judiciary announced through the Mizan press service.

The verdict is likely to increase tensions between Tehran and the West. The EU on Monday only tightened its sanctions against the leaders of the Islamic Republic for suppressing the protest movement. The European punitive measures are aimed at politicians and the military, who are accused of persecuting dissident demonstrators.

There is also talk of classifying the Revolutionary Guards – the regime’s elite troops – as a terrorist organization. Relations between Iran are also tense due to Iran’s nuclear program and the supply of Iranian drones to Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the verdict “shocking”. No legal rule was observed. The verdict will result in a “clear response” from the federal government. Berlin will also continue to support Scharmahd. But not only the government is involved. CDU leader Friedrich Merz had already announced in early January that he would take over Sharmahd’s political sponsorship.

Sharmahd, who is now 67, was born in Iran but has lived in Germany since the 1980s and has held both Iranian and German citizenship since 1995. In 2003, the software engineer moved with his family to the US state of California, where he became involved with Tondar, a monarchist group that opposed the Iranian mullah system.

Kidnapped by Iranian intelligence

According to his family, Sharmadh was abducted to Tehran by Iranian agents in Dubai in July 2020. He was arrested and, according to his daughter Gazelle, has since been “tortured until his teeth fell out and he can no longer walk properly”. Iran executed more than 500 people last year, more than in five years, according to a census of Iranian human rights activists in exile.

The UN also got involved in the matter last year. The UN Human Rights Commission’s working group against arbitrary detention called for comment from the Iranian government and also investigated the role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman in the alleged kidnapping of the opposition figure.

At the time, Tehran declined to comment on Sharmahd, citing the ongoing process. The UAE was also silent, while Oman reacted with delay and broke UN rules.

Besides Sharmahd, at least two other Germans are in Iranian custody. Nahid Taghavi from Cologne, who also has a German and an Iranian passport, has been detained for more than two years. A 66-year-old German tourist in Iran was arrested last year for allegedly taking photos in restricted areas.

Critics accuse Iran of arresting foreigners to use them to release Iranian agents abroad. In February 2020, a German national was released in Iran after German authorities returned to Iran an Iranian who was about to be extradited to the United States for sanctions violations.