Iran's government confirmed on Monday the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a 69-year-old Iranian dissident with dual German citizenship, exacerbating concerns regarding the treatment of dual citizens within the country. Sharmahd was seized by Iranian agents in Dubai in 2020 and accused of aiding in a deadly terrorist bombing in 2008, claims he and his family have consistently repudiated.
Living in California at the time of his abduction, Sharmahd was linked to the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, a group that seeks to overthrow the current regime in Tehran and re-establish the monarchy. His case has drawn international scrutiny due to its peculiar context; Iran has rarely executed dual nationals, though two similar cases occurred last year with the executions of British-Iranian Alireza Akbari and Swedish-Iranian Habib Chaab.
Sharmahd’s family emphasized that the trial which led to his conviction was rife with irregularities and labeled it a sham by human rights advocates and Western officials. Irish law enforcement suggested he was captured following a “complex operation,” but specifics remained undisclosed.
A decade prior, U.S. prosecutors had charged a supposed Iranian operative with attempting to hire a hitman to kill Sharmahd, but the individual escaped before sentencing. The execution of Sharmahd reflects the Iranian regime's increased hostility toward dissent, particularly among those with connections abroad, and raises fresh alarm over the country's record of human rights violations.
