Leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany: The German government must make more efforts to free 'Sharmhad'

Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, who is advocating for Jamshid Sharmhad, a political prisoner sentenced to death in Iran, described Sharmhad's trial as a 'political show trial' and called on the German government to exert political pressure on the Islamic Republic. Merz tweeted: 'The trial of Jamshid Sharmhad was a political show trial; the Iranian government must release this prisoner.' He also urged the German federal government to significantly increase its efforts to free Jamshid Sharmhad, as other European countries have successfully managed to free their citizens and continue to strive for their release. Iranian officials have accused Sharmhad of planning a deadly attack on a mosque in 2008, which resulted in 15 deaths and over 200 injuries. Jamshid Sharmhad was sentenced to death earlier this year. He holds dual citizenship in Germany and permanent residency in the United States, and was kidnapped by Iranian security forces outside Iran and transferred back to Iran several years ago. Ghazaleh Sharmhad reported on Monday, July 26, in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America, about a phone call from her father after two years. She said about this phone call: 'We did not expect to receive such a call. I have not been allowed to speak with my father for over two years, and only my mother can talk to him, and that only twice a year. It was around February this year that he spoke with my mother, even before the death sentence was issued. We were very worried because the sentence had been given, but we had no news of him. Therefore, his call made us very happy, especially me, as I was able to hear my father's voice and he could talk to me. I was also worried because one feels specific feelings and experiences specific anxieties.' The daughter of the dual-national prisoner said that her father is still in solitary confinement, in very poor physical condition, and for the first time, signs of fractures could be heard in his words. The judicial process concerning Jamshid Sharmhad has always been protested by human rights organizations over the years. Currently, Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American-British dual citizen, Siamak Namazi and Emad Sharqi, Iranian-American citizens, and Shahab Dalili, an Iranian permanent resident in the U.S., are imprisoned in Iran. Among other foreign or dual-national prisoners in Iran are Nahid Taghavi, an Iranian-German citizen, Mehran Raoufi, an Iranian-British citizen, Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish citizen, and three French citizens: Cecile Kohler, her husband Jacques Paris, and Louis Arnaud. Ghazaleh Sharmhad expresses her fears and hopes from the first phone conversation with her father in the Islamic Republic's prison. Mohammad Moein: Due to the West's negligence in pressuring the Islamic Republic, there is a possibility of Sharmhad's execution. Ghazaleh Sharmhad's request from Joe Biden: Do not leave us defenseless against the actions of the Islamic Republic. The daughter of Jamshid Sharmhad talks about the details of a complaint against eight senior officials of the Islamic Republic in Germany. Conversation with her father after two years; Ghazaleh Sharmhad: My father was unaware of the Mahsa revolution and his sentence. The phone call from Jamshid Sharmhad and family concerns; could this be his farewell call? A California representative called for the safe and sound return of Jamshid Sharmhad home. Ghazaleh Sharmhad's complaint against eight senior officials of the Islamic Republic.