Judiciary: Jamshid Sharmad 'died' before execution; Germany: Iran is responsible for his death

The spokesperson for the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic stated that Jamshid Sharmad was not executed but had 'died' before the execution of his sentence. Asghar Jahangir on Tuesday, November 15, referred to Jamshid Sharmad, an Iranian-German citizen residing in the U.S., as a 'terrorist' and said that the Iranian judiciary tried him as an Iranian citizen based on his 'terrorist activities' and sentenced him to death. In response to this news, Germany stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for Jamshid Sharmad's death. According to Reuters, a German official on Tuesday pointed out that Mr. Sharmad was kidnapped by Iran and added that he had been 'imprisoned for years without a fair trial and in inhumane conditions without necessary medical care. Iran is responsible for his death.' The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic on November 7 had used the phrase 'reaching the punishment for his actions' for Jamshid Sharmad without mentioning the word 'execution'; this was interpreted as his 'execution' given the issuance of a final and definitive sentence. The news of Sharmad's execution was denied today, while Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, condemned Germany's harsh reaction to the publication of this news and spoke in a way that seemed to confirm Sharmad's execution. He stated: 'It is unbelievable that when we execute someone in our country, they say you do not respect human rights, but those who kill women and children and block the water and bread of the people are human beings?' In reaction to Sharmad's execution, Germany is closing Iranian consulates; Tehran's response followed. The announcement of this news was met with strong reactions from Germany, the European Union, and the United States. Germany one day later recalled its ambassador from Tehran and announced the closure of the Islamic Republic's consulates in that country. The German Foreign Ministry on November 8 wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that 'we have expressed our strongest protests against the actions of the Iranian regime and reserve the right to take further action.' Abram Paley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, also called Mr. Sharmad's 'execution' the 'latest heinous act in the long history of the Iranian regime's transnational repression.' Mr. Paley wrote on social media X: 'Sharmad should never have been imprisoned in the first place. His kidnapping and transfer to Iran, as well as the sham trial and reports of his torture, were heinous.' Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, also condemned Jamshid Sharmad's 'execution' on November 8 and stated: 'The European Union is considering actions in response to this act.' However, Ghazaleh Sharmad, the daughter of this Iranian-American citizen, has demanded proof of her father's death and described her father's 'executors' as 'cowardly jihadists of the occupying regime,' calling for their punishment. Jamshid Sharmad's child also raised several questions, demanding evidence regarding the confirmation of her father's execution news. She stated that her family 'does not want any condolence statement or comment that does not include the immediate return of my father (dead or alive) and severe punishment for the Islamic regime's killers.' Jamshid Sharmad was kidnapped by the security forces of the Islamic Republic while staying at a hotel in Dubai during a business trip amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was transferred to Iran. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Judiciary, on November 7 published a statement from the Tehran prosecutor's office claiming that Jamshid Sharmad had played a role in 'designing multiple terrorist operations,' one of which was 'the bombing and explosion at the Seyyed al-Shuhada Hosseiniyeh in Shiraz.' The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence had accused Mr. Sharmad of designing this explosion in 1399 (2020). In the explosion on April 24, 2008, at this Hosseiniyeh, 14 people were killed. Mr. Sharmad's family deemed this accusation 'ridiculous' and rejected it.