German-Iranian political dissident, Jamshid Sharmahd, is at risk of execution after being sentenced to death for “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) following a grossly unfair trial. Since July 2020, the Iranian authorities have been subjecting him to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment including through prolonged solitary confinement and denial of adequate healthcare.
Jamshid Sharmahd, a resident of the USA and a journalist, created a website, Tondar, for the Kingdom Assembly of Iran (also known as Anjoman-e Padeshahi-ye Iran) which is an opposition collective that advocates for an end to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including through violence. Jamshid Sharmahd hosted its radio and video broadcasts, including by reading out the website’s content, some of which was posted anonymously. The website included statements from the Kingdom Assembly of Iran claiming responsibility for explosions inside Iran. Jamshid Sharmahd has repeatedly denied his involvement in the violent acts attributed to him by the authorities.
On 1 August 2020, the Ministry of Intelligence announced in a statement that its secret agents, referred to as the “unknown soldiers of Imam Zaman” had arrested Jamshid Sharmahd following a “complex operation” without providing further details. The same day, the Minister of Intelligence, Mahmoud Alavi, stated that Jamshid Sharmahd was “heavily supported by the intelligence services of the USA and Israel” and that he had been “led” into Iran through “complex operations” and taken into the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence. This was widely understood to have meant that he was abducted by Iran’s intelligence agents from abroad – Jamshid Sharmahd had been in the UAE – and forcibly taken to Iran. Following his abduction, Ministry of Intelligence agents told Jamshid Sharmahd that he was held in Tehran’s Evin prison, but by late 2020 he told his family he was no longer there without being permitted to say more about his location. During a 23 March 2021 phone call, Jamshid Sharmahd said he had lost nearly 20kg and that only two of his teeth remained intact without being able to elaborate further, adding that he was only able to eat by using his gums to try to chew food. Continue
