Germany expels 2 Iranian diplomats over dual citizen's death sentence

Berlin declares pair ‘unwanted persons,’ demands Tehran cancel verdict for Jamshid Sharmahd, convicted by revolutionary court of terrorist activities

BERLIN — Germany said Wednesday that it is expelling two Iranian diplomats over the death sentence imposed in Iran against one of its citizens.

Authorities in Iran announced Tuesday that Jamshid Sharmahd, a 67-year-old Iranian-German national and US resident, was sentenced to death after being convicted of terrorist activities.

Iran claims Sharmahd is the leader of the armed wing of a group advocating the restoration of the monarchy that was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but his family said he was merely the spokesman for the opposition group and denies he was involved in any attacks.

They accuse Iranian intelligence of abducting him from Dubai in 2020. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Berlin and informed him that “we 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,” she said.

“We demand that Iran revokes the death sentence against Jamshid Sharmahd and allows him to have an appeal that is fair and in line with the rule of law.”

In this file photo taken on February 6, 2022, Jamshid Sharmahd (L front), who is accused by the Iranian government of being a leader of the US-based “Tondar terrorist group” behind a deadly attack in Iran in 2008, attends the first hearing of his trial in Tehran. (Koosha MAHSHID FALAHI/MIZAN NEWS AGENCY/AFP)

Germany has said that Sharmahd, who lives in Glendora, California, did not have “even the beginning of a fair trial” and that consular access and access to the trial had been repeatedly denied. She also said he had been arrested “under highly questionable circumstances,” without elaborating.

The death sentence — which can be appealed — comes against the backdrop of months of anti-government protests in Iran and a fierce crackdown on dissent. Monarchists based outside Iran support the protests, as do other groups and individuals with different ideologies.

The official website of Iran’s judiciary said Sharmahd was convicted of plotting terrorist activities. He was tried in a Revolutionary Court, where proceedings are held behind closed doors and where rights groups say defendants are unable to choose their lawyers or see the evidence against them.