Iran says an Iranian German died before he could be executed

An Iranian government official has told the Quds state newspaper that Iranian German Jamshid Sharmahd was dead before his execution. Iranian authorities announced last week that Sharmadh had been “executed”, leading to speculation that he had been executed.

According to Germany, this claim does not change Iran’s responsibility. “Sharmahd was kidnapped by Iran and held in inhumane conditions for years without due process and without medical care,” said a foreign ministry official. “Iran is guilty of his death,” the German official said

Due to the death of Sharmahd Germany closed the Iranian consulates in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. Only the embassy in Berlin remains open. German Foreign Minister Baerbock said last week that diplomatic relations between Germany and Iran have reached “more than a low point.”

Sharmadh was born in Tehran, grew up in Germany and then lived in the US. In 2020, he was kidnapped while leaving Dubai on a business trip and deported to Iran. There he was sentenced to death in 2023, according to Amnesty International and the US in a false trial.

Iran accused Sharmadh of an attack on a mosque in 2008, which killed fourteen people and injured more than 200. He was also accused of revealing classified information about missile locations. His family denies all charges and campaigned for his release for years.

Iran carries out hundreds of executions every year. Amnesty International concluded in May that at least 853 people will be executed in 2023. This means that the majority of recorded executions worldwide take place there Iran: 74 percent.