Germany recalls Tehran envoy amid global outcry over execution

Germany has recalled its ambassador to Iran over the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen and US resident, and summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires as global condemnation grows over the killing.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recalled the ambassador after he formally voiced Germany's condemnation to the Iranian foreign minister, the German foreign office said in a post on X.

Iran executed the 68-year-old dissident who was a software developer and California resident on Monday. He was abducted by Iranian agents during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and forcibly taken to Iran. In February 2023, the Iranian judiciary sentenced him to death on charges of endangering national security.

Germany's ambassador in Tehran issued a démarche to Iran's foreign minister, strongly protesting the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, according to an X post. The message added that Foreign Minister Baerbock has since recalled the ambassador to Berlin for consultations.

Sharmahd was convicted of heading a pro-monarchist group named Tondar accused of a deadly bombing incident that occurred in 2008 at a religious center in Shiraz, killing 14 and injuring 215 more. The accusation, repeatedly denied by Sharmahd, was never substantiated by documented evidence. He was denied a fair trial and due process, as most other political prisoners, especially dual nationals.

The execution has ignited a global wave of condemnation from a broad spectrum of people, including Iranian dissidents, foreign officials, and the victim's family.

Along with a video of herself looking at the camera in silence, his daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, criticized the US and German governments for their inaction during the past four years. “Are you seriously still going to ignore our family and leave even my father’s presumed corpse defenseless in terrorist hands?”

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell condemned his killing in the strongest possible terms, saying that the EU is considering measures in response.

Abram Paley, the US deputy special envoy for Iran, called the execution abhorrent and condemned the country's rising rate of executions.

"Sharmahd should never have been imprisoned in the first place," Paley wrote on X. "His kidnapping and rendition, as well as sham trial and reports of torture, were reprehensible. We...stand with the international community in holding the regime accountable for its horrific abuses."

German lawmaker Friedrich Merz called his trial a mockery of international standards of legal proceedings, saying, “The Iranian regime has once again shown its inhumane character.”

"Jamshid Sharmahd was executed because there are still people in Iran and around the world who believe that an establishment responsible for 'crimes against humanity' can be transformed by simply changing a president or parliament," Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi condemned the Islamic Republic for the execution and criticized the US and German governments for their lack of support to free Sharmahd..

“The oppressive Islamic Republic regime, led by the despicable Ali Khamenei, has further stained its hands with the blood of Jamshid Sharmahd...[who] was denied basic human rights and a fair trial. Despite holding dual citizenship with Germany and permanent residency in the US, he received inadequate support from these governments. Their failure to leverage their influence to secure his release or at least his life is a stain on their conscience.”

Renowned activist Masih Alinejad, who was herself the subject of alleged foiled abduction and assassination attempts, shared a cartoon published by a state-run newspaper that depicts Sharmahd and late dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam in fishing nets accompanied by a threatening caption, “Next: Masih Alinejad.” Zam, who had left Iran and was living in France was kidnapped by Iran’s secret services in Iraq and taken to Iran. After interrogations and possibly torture he was hanged in December 2020.

“The Islamic Republic understands no language of peace or diplomacy. Their language is that of hostage-taking, execution, assassination, and murder,” Alinejad wrote.

Canada-based Iranian activist Hamed Esmaeilion described the execution, which came shortly after an Israeli attack inside Iran, as an attempt to deflect attention from its domestic and international failures, a sentiment that was echoed by a large number of Iranians around the world.

“Jamshid Sharmahd was yet another hostage executed at the hands of the Islamic Republic. This regime of murder and manslaughter compensates for its failures and inability to address major domestic and international challenges by suppressing the Iranian people. The regime takes revenge on the people for its defeats.”

Iran conducted the most executions of any country in the world after China last year, Amnesty said in a report in May, adding that nearly 75% of all executions worldwide in 2023 outside China were in Iran. The recent wave of executions brings the total number of hangings in Iran this year to more than 567, including 20 women, according to rights groups.