Iran has executed 69-year-old German-Iranian political scientist Jamshid Sharmahd after years of captivity. The execution sparked widespread condemnation in Germany and international human rights organizations.

Sharmahd’s execution on Monday prompted leading German officials to warn of “serious consequences” for Iran’s “inhumane regime”.

Sharmahd, a German citizen of Iranian origin who also resides in the United States, was seized by Iranian authorities while traveling in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020, as confirmed by his family.

Iran, which does not recognize dual citizenship, announced that he was arrested after what it described as a “complex operation”, but details about his abduction were not disclosed.

Sharmahd grew up in an Iranian-German family and moved to California in 2003. He has previously been accused of making hostile statements about both Iran and Islam on television.

Iran’s Mizan news outlet referred to him as a “criminal terrorist”, claiming he had support from US and European intelligence services.

In February 2023, Sharmahd was sentenced to death as “Corruption on earth”, a decision later confirmed by the Iranian supreme court.

It was stated on the Mizan website of the Iranian judiciary that “The death sentence of Jamshid Sharmahd was executed this morning.”

He was convicted for his alleged involvement in the mosque bombing in Shiraz in 2008, which killed 14 people and injured more than 300. Sharmahd’s family has consistently maintained his innocence.

According to a report on the BBC, at that time, Jamshid Sharmahd’s daughter, Gazelle Sharmahd, called on German prosecutors to investigate the Iranian judiciary for allegedly ill-treating her father.

He expressed his concerns in a July 2023 interview with the BBC, saying: “They’re killing him softly in solitary confinement on this death row.” The comment came after the first phone call his father was allowed to make to his family in two years.

Gazelle also accused the Iranian regime of wanting a public execution for his father, saying: “They want a public execution of my father to send this message of terror: Anyone who speaks against the regime, we can do this to you.” .” According to the news on the judiciary’s Mizan website on Monday, Sharmahd was executed on Sunday with the approval of the Supreme Court of Iran.

The Iranian government accused Sharmahd of leading the Tondar group, which aims to overthrow the Islamic Republic and is designated by Iran as a terrorist organization. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that the execution “shows once again what kind of inhumane regime reigns in Tehran: a regime that uses death against its youth, its own people and foreign nationals.” He said Berlin had repeatedly warned that executing a German citizen would have serious consequences.

Baerbock expressed his “sincere sympathy” to Sharmahd’s family, noting the ongoing efforts of the German embassy in Tehran on his behalf. But Mariam Claren, the daughter of another German-Iranian detainee, accused the German government on social media of failing to prevent “this state murder” if it really wanted to.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), described the execution as “an extrajudicial killing of a hostage” aimed at diverting attention from the Iranian regime’s failures. “Jamshid Sharmahd was abducted in the United Arab Emirates and unlawfully transported to Iran, where he was sentenced to death without a fair trial.”

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights echoed these sentiments, calling Sharmahd’s unlawful abduction, subsequent torture, unfair trial, and execution indicative of “the countless crimes of the Iranian regime.”

In light of the execution, European Parliament member Hannah Neumann, who led the parliament’s delegation to Iran, called for a reassessment of EU policy towards Tehran, stating that the execution “clearly shows us how we should judge this new government.” Several Europeans, including at least three French citizens, are still detained in Iran.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran is the country that carries out the most executions each year, second only to China. While at least 627 people have been executed in Iran this year, rights activists accused the government of using the death penalty as a tool of fear.

With input from agencies.