Berlin confronts Tehran over reports of German national’s detention
The German embassy in Tehran is investigating reports of the detention of a German national and has raised the matter with Iranian authorities, a source from the German Federal Foreign Office told Iran International on Sunday.
“The Foreign Office takes reports about detentions of German nationals very seriously. Our embassy in Tehran is investigating the report intensely and has confronted the Iranian side at a high level with the reports,” the source said.
No further details were immediately available on the identity of the detainee or the circumstances of their arrest.
On Saturday, Iranian Finland-based journalist Kambiz Ghafouri reported the alleged arrest of a male German citizen in Iran, saying he is currently in quarantine at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison.
In January, the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution condemning Iran’s detention of European Union citizens, labelling the practice as “hostage diplomacy.”
The resolution called for the immediate release of detained EU nationals and for a stronger coordinated diplomatic efforts by EU member states.
In its resolution, the European Parliament “strongly condemns Iran’s use of hostage diplomacy” and calls for the immediate and safe release of all EU citizens held in the country, including Olivier Grondeau, Cécile Kohler, Jacques Paris, and Ahmadreza Djalali.
Last month, the body of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd was returned to Germany after his death in an Iranian prison while awaiting execution.
Sharmahd 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, but he died of a stroke before his scheduled execution, according to Iran's judiciary.
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, which Sharmahd repeatedly denied, was never substantiated by documented evidence.
