German-Iranian Businessman Faces Imminent Execution in Iran
Jamshid Sharmahd, a dual national of Germany and Iran, is facing imminent execution in Iran after being held in solitary confinement for almost three years. Sharmahd, a businessman, was sentenced to death last year for “corruption on Earth,” a term used by the Iranian regime for any form of opposition. Amnesty International has condemned his trial as a sham.
Sharmahd’s daughter, Gazelle, who lives in Los Angeles, received a call from her father in his jail cell, the first contact they had in two years. While relieved to hear from him, Gazelle fears that this call was allowed so that her father could say goodbye before his execution. She has launched a criminal complaint in Germany, calling for an investigation into eight high-ranking members of the Iranian judiciary and intelligence service for crimes against humanity.
Gazelle Sharmahd has also highlighted the inhumane treatment her father has endured while in custody. He has lost his teeth and suffers from Parkinson’s disease, but has not been given the proper medication. She describes his current situation as “killing him softly in solitary confinement.” Gazelle also believes that the Iranian authorities plan to execute her father publicly as a message of terror to those who oppose the regime.
Jamshid Sharmahd, who worked as an engineer for Siemens and later set up his own tech business in the US, became a target of the Iranian government after publicly voicing his opposition to the regime. While on a layover in Dubai three years ago, he was abducted and taken to Iran, where he faced numerous false accusations, including spying for foreign countries and involvement in terror attacks. German and EU politicians have criticized the charges, stating that they lack evidence.
Gazelle Sharmahd has been campaigning for her father’s release for years but claims to have received little support from the German government. She is now using the principle of universal jurisdiction to bring her case to German state prosecutors. This principle allows crimes against humanity or war crimes to be prosecuted anywhere in the world, regardless of where they were conducted.
Patrick Kroker, Gazelle Sharmahd’s lawyer, believes that such cases can act as a deterrent to human rights abuses. He cites a recent case in which a former official of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for torture and murder committed in Syria. Kroker believes that high-ranking officials who may commit crimes can no longer travel freely without the risk of arrest.
However, the response from the Iranian authorities remains uncertain. Gazelle Sharmahd fears that her father could be executed at any moment. The Iranian-German community has voiced frustration with the German government, accusing it of prioritizing trade over human rights. Some Iranian-Germans feel ignored and unprotected by their own government, raising concerns of racism and discrimination. Despite the German Foreign Office’s statements condemning the death sentence, members of the Iranian-German community feel forgotten and vulnerable.