Germany Expels Iranian Embassy Employees Over Death Sentence

February 22, 2023

2 min read

Jamshid Sharmahd, a 67-year-old Iranian-German citizen, was sentenced to death on terrorism charges after what his family called a "sham trial."

Germany’s government has declared two employees of the Iranian Embassy in Berlin personae non gratae and ordered them to leave the country in protest over a death sentence imposed by the Islamic Republic against a German national.

The foreign office made the announcement on February 22, a day after the Iranian judiciary said that Jamshid Sharmahd, a 67-year-old Iranian-German citizen and US resident, was sentenced to death on terrorism charges.

Sharmahd has denied the accusations against him, and his family has denounced the "sham trial."

The verdict can be appealed before the Iran's Supreme Court.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she had summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires and informed him that Berlin “will not accept this massive breach of a German citizen’s rights.”

“As a consequence the German government has declared two members of the Iranian embassy unwanted persons and asked them to leave Germany at short notice,” Baerbock said.

The minister urged the Iranian authorities to revoke the death sentence against Sharmahd and allow him to “have an appeal that is fair and in line with the rule of law.”

Sharmahd’s family accuses Iranian intelligence of abducting him from Dubai in 2020.

When announcing his arrest, the Ministry of Intelligence alleged that he was "the ringleader of the terrorist Tondar group."

The Los Angeles-based Iranian opposition group Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar, says it aims to overthrow the Islamic Republic established in 1979. It runs opposition radio and television stations abroad, as well as social media channels.

In a video message posted on Twitter on January 18, Sharmahd’s daughter sharply criticized German authorities for their silence regarding her father's incarceration.

Ghazaleh Sharmahd said that over the past year, her father has been tortured, "his teeth have fallen out, he has lost 20 kilos, and he is unable to walk or breathe easily."

In August 2022, Amnesty International said that the Iranian authorities “have forcibly disappeared and are torturing” Sharmahd. The London-based human rights watchdog said the suspect was facing a “grossly unfair” trial.