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Germany summons Iran's envoy over Jamshid Sharmahd execution

October 29, 2024

Berlin said it condemns the execution of the German-Iranian software developer "in the strongest possible terms." The German ambassador to Iran has also been recalled.

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German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd
Jamshid Sharmahd had ties to the Tondar movement to unseat the Iranian regime, considered a terrorist group by TehranImage: Koosha Falahi/Mizan/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's Foreign Office on Tuesday denounced the "murder" of German-Iranian dual national Jamshid Sharmahd, recalling Berlin's envoy to Tehran and summoning the Iranian ambassador to Germany.

Ambassador Markus Potzel also appeared before Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to protest Sharmahd being put to death "in the strongest possible terms."

Berlin warns Tehran of 'serious consequences'

Potzel was then recalled to Berlin for further consultations with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Germany's top diplomat warned the "inhuman regime" in Tehran that there would be "serious consequences" over the execution of Sharmahd.

Araghchi dismissed Germany's condemnations as "gaslighting," writing on social media site X that "no terrorist enjoys impunity in Iran...A German passport does not provide impunity to anyone, let alone a terrorist criminal."

Later on Tuesday, the office of Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Iranian Ambassador to Berlin Mahmoud Farazandeh had been summoned by the German government to answer questions relating to the death of the 69-year-old.

EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said the bloc also condemned Sharmahd's "killing in the strongest possible terms" and that they were "considering measures in response."

What happened to Jamshid Sharmahd?

Sharmahd was accused of taking part in a 2008 terror attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 14 people. After being convicted of the vague charge of "corruption on Earth," a catch-all term for religious crimes, he was sentenced to death in 2023.

Legal news site Mizan reported that the execution was carried out on Monday.

Born in Tehran in 1955, Sharmahd grew up in the western German city of Hanover and was a dual citizen of both countries. Following a career as a software developer, a 2007 cyberattack revealed his connections to websites that advocate for the overthrow of the Iranian government, including by violent means.

A longtime resident of California, Sharmahd was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 and brought back to Iran to be tried.

es/kb (AFP, dpa)