Daughter Urgently Appeals: Save Father On Iran Death Row

The daughter of German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd, who is currently on death row in Iran, pleaded for the United States and Germany to intervene in his case.

Following a sit-in protest outside the US State Department, Gazelle Sharmahd, who lives in California, issued her urgent appeal to officials in Washington. "What I'm asking the US and Germany is to free my father, to bring my father back, to save his life," she said.

This appeal comes in the wake of a recent deal by President Joe Biden's administration, which secured the release of five American citizens incarcerated in Iran.

Sharmahd, 68, a software developer and long-term resident of California, was reportedly abducted during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and subsequently transported to Iran against his will. The Iranian judiciary sentenced him to death on charges of "spreading corruption on Earth," a verdict that was upheld by Iran's Supreme Court in April. The family has vehemently rebuffed the allegations and Amnesty International has already condemned his trial as a sham.

Gazelle Sharmahd said she was frustrated by the passing of responsibility between Germany and the US. "It seems like a game of responsibility ping-pong. The issue is tossed back and forth, with each side claiming 'not my citizen,' 'not my jurisdiction.' And we're not getting through to them," she said

Germany has said it is actively involved in the case through its highest channels but Gazelle Sharmahd is convinced that Germany's efforts were only on improving her father's prison conditions.

While denouncing Iran's treatment of Sharmahd as "reprehensible," the US State Department said that that the case falls within Germany's purview as he is their citizen.