Islamic Republic Claims $2.5 Billion Damages Against Jamshid Sharmhad and the U.S. Government

The media center of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that the 55th branch of the Tehran International Court has ordered the Tondar group, the Iranian Royalist Association, Jamshid Sharmhad, and the U.S. government to pay damages amounting to $2.5 billion. According to the report, the Islamic Republic's judiciary claimed that this ruling was issued in response to the "demands of the victims of the bombing at the Hosseiniyeh in Shiraz in 2008." The damage claim against the Tondar group, the Iranian Royalist Association, its imprisoned director Jamshid Sharmhad, and the U.S. government was announced a few weeks after the launch of the "Cut the Rope" campaign by Ghazaleh Sharmhad, Jamshid Sharmhad's daughter. In an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America, Ghazaleh Sharmhad referred to the executions in Iran, stating: "We are facing a wave of executions in Iran. Last year alone, 834 people were executed. This year, over 50 people were executed in January. We want to draw the world's attention to the executions in Iran with this campaign." She also mentioned simultaneous gatherings in support of this campaign in many countries around the world, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and European countries. Ghazaleh Sharmhad stated in another interview with Voice of America that the day the campaign was launched coincided with the day Jamshid Sharmhad was sentenced to death. According to a UN working group on arbitrary detention, 68-year-old Jamshid Sharmhad was kidnapped in the summer of 2020 in the UAE and forcibly transferred to Iran. The Islamic Republic has stated that Mr. Sharmhad was arrested in a "complex operation." Mr. Sharmhad, a dual Iranian-German citizen who also has permanent residency in the United States, was sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth" after a trial deemed by the international community as a sham. Previously, Ghazaleh Sharmhad stated that her father suffers from Parkinson's disease and may die due to the deterioration of his health. She also mentioned, "His teeth have been broken under torture or due to malnutrition [and] he cannot properly pronounce words or chew or eat food." Ghazaleh Sharmhad also stated last November that her father had been in complete solitary confinement for "over 1185 days." Vedant Patel, the Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said on August 14, "The regime's treatment of Mr. Sharmhad has been shameful. He has been sentenced to death after a legal process that has been heavily criticized as a sham trial. We strongly condemn this kind of behavior." Ghazaleh Sharmhad: "My father is one of thousands who have death sentences; I empathize with their families." Ghazaleh Sharmhad speaks about the "Cut the Rope" campaign in protest against the Islamic Republic's executions. The "Campaign Against Executions in Iran"; activists in cyberspace have called for the "cutting of this 45-year-old rope." Masih Alinejad told Voice of America: "The Islamic Republic's support arms in the West will be exposed." The UN fact-finding committee considered discrimination against women in Iran to be a violation of human rights and a crime against humanity. Statements from several professional organizations in Iran on the occasion of International Women's Day: Women have become pioneers of the struggles. About 25 civil and political groups outside Iran have called for the release of female political prisoners.