#Gazelle Sharmahd

[trendynewsnow]

Protests in Berlin Over Execution of German-Iranian Activist Jamshid Sharmahd

Protests Erupt in Berlin Following Execution of German-Iranian Activist A large crowd of demonstrators gathered outside the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin on Monday to protest the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian citizen who had been imprisoned in Iran for four years on charges related to terrorism. Sharmahd, aged 69, was born in Tehran but spent much of his childhood in Germany…

[beardedmrbean]

Iranian state media reported on Monday that Jamshid Sharmahd had been executed after he was convicted last year.  

Sharmahd was sentenced to death in February 2023 following a conviction by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges linked to his involvement in a deadly 2008 attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 14 people.

However, the formal conviction in Iran was for the much more vague Iranian criminal offense of spreading "corruption on Earth," a catch-all phrase the Islamic regime uses for an array of purported crimes, often related to religious values.

Iranian media including the legal news site Mizan reported that the execution took place on Monday morning. 

Iran had also accused him of being in contact with "FBI and CIA officers" and of having "attempted to contact Israeli Mossad agents."

California resident likely seized in Dubai in 2020

Tehran had accused Sharmahd of being the "ringleader of the terrorist Tondar group, who directed armed and terrorist acts in Iran from America." The little-known Tondar group, the armed wing of the "Kingdom Assembly of Iran," is based in California and says it seeks to restore Iran's monarchy that was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Before his kidnapping, believed to have taken place in Dubai, and subsequent detention in Iran, the 69-year old Sharmahd had been residing in California.

His daughter, Gazelle, had spearheaded the fight calling for him to be spared execution.

Germany, the EU and others had also called for the death sentence to be lifted.

"I don't think words can change a terrorist regime," Gazelle Sharmahd told DW soon after her father's conviction in 2023. "This is a regime that kidnaps people like my Dad from outside of Iran, takes them over there. ... This terrorist regime will not respond to any kind of talks or diplomacy. We have seen this, unfortunately."

Amensty International lamented 'grossly unfair' trial

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last year called Sharmahd's setence "absolutely unacceptable," and also said he had not been given a fair trial. 

Rights NGO Amnesty International made similar complaints in reports on the case, calling the legal proceedings "grossly unfair." In a report on the original conviction last April

, Amnesty said Sharmahd was denied access to an independent lawyer of his own choosing and alleged that the state-appointed defense attorney's services were inadequate. 

"His government-appointed lawyer told his family on July 2, 2022, that there was 'no point' to him objecting against the Revolutionary Court admitting his forced 'confessions' as evidence," Amnesty wrote. "Prior to this, on May 9, 2021, the government-appointed lawyer said that without payment of US$250,000 from the family, he would not defend Jamshid Sharmahd in court and would only 'sit there'."

[roboe1]

In The News Today, and other things.

Daughter of California man executed by Iran slams ‘incompetent’ Biden-Harris admin: ‘You left him to die’ The daughter of a California resident and German-Iranian dual citizen who was executed by Tehran on Monday slammed the Biden-Harris administration and German government for their alleged incompetence in saving him. Gazelle Sharmahd posted a video of herself Monday night — dressed in all���

[politikwatch]

Die #Deutsche #Regierung ist offensichtlich nicht in der Lage #Deutsche #Staatsbürger im Ausland zu #beschützen. Bist Du im Ausland und wirst entführt, verlass dich nicht auf den #Deutschen #Staat, denn dann bist du verlassen ❗🤬 #Iran #Sharmahd

[shirzan140102]

My blog is inactive, since I've given up on posting on here, but I'm glad I decided to log on here on a whim after all this time and that I was greeted by the pleasant surprise that someone cared enough to remember and post about this. I'm genuinely grateful that you had your eye on this case and that you cared to provide an update, even if it's something as upsetting as this, since it shows that there are still people out there who care.

But I'd also like to take advantage of this opportunity to talk more about Western complicity in the regime's crimes through appeasement and legitimization. Let's look back at how the US and Germany handled Jamshid "Jimmy" Sharmahd's case and what this shows about the West's hypocrisy and corruption.

To begin, Jamshid was a naturalized citizen of Germany and a legal US resident since the early 2000s. Despite pleas from his family to both the US and German governments to intercede on his behalf, neither government did anything for him. When President Biden engaged in the fake prisoner exchange last year that only "freed" people with ties to the regime and was a pretense to free up billions of dollars in frozen assets to the regime, they completely shut out Sharmahd's family and at first even lied that they'd rescued all prisoners from Iran. Eventually, they claimed that they couldn't do anything because he was just a legal resident - although, as his daughter Ghazaleh "Gazelle" Sharmahd, explains, he would also be protected by the Levinson Act - and passed off the responsibility to advocating for him to the German government, which did absolutely nothing to help him. Both governments ignored the Sharmahd family's desperate pleas, and Sharmahd was killed by the regime after years of torture. (I'd also like to point out officials in the State Department felt the need to comment on Sharmahd's execution and express their fake outrage after ignoring and dismissing his family for so long when they normally don't comment on executions by the regime. It's, in its own way, an admission of guilt.) Again, they didn't want to lift a finger for a real hostage and only worked to free fake prisoners who have documented ties to the regime to keep appearances and to have excuse to funnel money to the regime.

Furthermore, I'm glad you specifically brought up Germany's business with the regime, because that's indeed part of their calculus. Western governments claim to be outraged by the regime's human rights abuses, but they continue to do business with it and appease it, because they believe it to be in their interests. If you don't believe me, look at how the regime bought ammunition from European companies that was used to kill protesters. I repeat, European companies have been shamelessly selling weapons to a regime that is known for terrorism and repression for the sake of repression, and thus far, their governments have done nothing to penalize them for this. But this is part of their game, because they care more about benefiting from business with the regime than their empty platitudes about human rights.

I could go on and on about how the West has helped keep this regime in power, leading to 45 years of destruction for Iran and instability in the Middle East, but I'd be here all day. All everyone needs to know is that Western governments were responsible for this regime coming to power and have helped it remain in power by disregarding and misrepresenting the voices of Iranians and by paying the regime to keep killing Iranians and sow terror and discord throughout the world.

🚨🚨URGENT: ANOTHER Death Sentence Issued in Iran🚨🚨

Jamshid Sharmahd, an Iranian-German national, has been sentenced to death. The picture used in the article from IranWire alone is enough to break your heart. What's especially disturbing about his case are the circumstances surrounding his death: He was kidnapped while in Dubai and was subjected to extremely cruel treatment during imprisonment. The legitimacy of the accusations against him are dubious, and there's no telling whether an appeal will have any effect. Please be his voice. Say his name and save his life.

SOURCE

[politikwatch]

#MarkusLanz vom 3. Mai 2023

#KI und die #Arbeitswelt in nur 5 Jahren 🤔

Viel Spass ❗

Zu Gast: Aktivistin Gazelle Sharmahd, Politiker Hubertus #Heil, Autor Sascha #Lobo und Journalistin Sonja #Álvarez

[beardedmrbean]

With the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey set to meet in Tehran Tuesday to frame up their plans for the Mideast, a legal U.S. resident and German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd faces public execution for being a journalist.

Speaking from California, Sharmahd’s daughter Gazelle told Fox News Digital that a Tehran regime lawyer told the family a "death sentence is certain." Gazelle said a sixth hearing of her father’s "sham trial" might unfold this week. Iran’s regime refused to allow an independent lawyer to represent Sharmahd.

The clerical regime kidnapped the 67-year-old Sharmahd in July 2020 while he was staying at a hotel in Dubai. Sharmahd has lived in California since 2003.

Tehran’s opaque justice system claims Sharmahd played a role in a 2008 terrorist attack at a mosque in Shiraz, Iran that left 14 dead and more than 200 injured.

However, the regime-controlled media outlet Fars News quoted the Iranian National Security Council in 2008 as saying, "The explosion of a bomb or any explosion carried out by opposition elements, be they internal or foreign, is ruled out. The blast was caused by some munitions used in an exhibition for the [Iran-Iraq War] martyrs in the mosque."

Gazelle said the trial is designed to find a scapegoat for the 2008 blast and to "persecute dissidents and activists."

Sharmahd worked as a radio journalist in California exposing the high levels of Iranian citizens’ dissatisfaction with the theocratic state. "My dad created a website where activists [in Iran] could post articles, and he would talk about it on his radio show," Gazelle said.

Germany, which has been Iran’s most important trade partner over the decades, has faced widespread criticism for failing to prioritize Sharmahd’s case and win his freedom.

"I don’t see true actions from Germany. If Germany wants to rescue my dad, they can. They have the resources," said Gazelle.

The "true actions" she demands include support for calls from Iranian-Americans and German-Iranians to apply maximum pressure on the regime to secure her father’s release. Iranian-American human rights activist Lawdan Bazargan said Berlin should pull the plug on its diplomatic relationship with Tehran to send a message to Iran’s rulers about Sharmahd’s dire plight. "Germany should have broken its ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran years ago," she said.

Bazargan, who was imprisoned by the regime in the 1980s for dissident activity, said Germany continues to refuse to see "the big picture that the IRI [the Islamic Republic of Iran] is a state-sponsor of terrorism and is a danger for humanity."

Kazem Moussavi, a German-Iranian dissident and spokesman for the Green Party of Iran in exile, told Fox News Digital, "The regime in Iran is determined to execute the Iranian opposition figure and German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd.

"I’ll say frankly: His only chance of survival is if the [Berlin] federal government acts consistently and immediately. I call on Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to unequivocally demand that the ayatollahs release Jamshid Sharmahd immediately and to stress that Germany will sever relations with the regime and severely sanction it if there is an execution."

Lisa Daftari, an expert on Iran and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk website, told Fox News Digital, "The U.S. and Germany should absolutely use whatever diplomatic leverage they have to sanction the regime over Sharmahd’s case."

She continued, "The recent uptick in human rights abuses by Iran’s regime, particularly in the targeting of foreign nationals, is a consequence of weak policies against the mullahs. They want to show the world that they have the upper hand and the more dominant negotiating position vis-à-vis the West, and taking hostages and making examples out of them has been their modus operandi since they came to power in Tehran [in 1979]."

Jason I. Poblete, Sharmahd’s U.S.-based lawyer, told Fox News Digital: "If there is going to be a release of hostages in Iran that includes U.S. nationals – and it seems that there will be – then Jimmy [Jamshid] must be on that list. Mr. Sharmahd was kidnapped, paraded on Iranian state television by the supreme leader, and is being held hostage. The Americans, Germans and other stakeholders must do a whole lot more than what they have been doing."

When Fox News Digital asked the German Foreign Ministry if it would announce that it would cut diplomatic and economic relations with Iran's regime if the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentences Sharmahd to death, a spokesman dodged the question and said: "The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading form of punishment which the federal government, under all circumstances and unreservedly, opposes. We keep telling Iran this clearly in connection with Mr. Sharmahd."

For Gazelle, the foreign ministry statement was yet another platitude that she and her family have been hearing for the 720 days her father, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, has been held in isolation.

"All of his teeth, with the exception of two, have fallen out. They are emotionally and psychologically torturing Jimmy. And the German government just says we condemn the death penalty in general. They have to do something."

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query.

[bumblee-stumblee]

Jamshid Sharmahd had to make a three-day stopover at Dubai Airport in August 2020 on a trip from Germany to India. There he lost contact with his family. The family learned a few days later through Iranian state media that Mr. Sharmahd had been kidnapped by the Islamic Republic's secret service and taken to Iran. Jamshid Sharmahd is a political activist who has consistently criticized the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to his daughter, Gazelle Sharmahd, her father has been in solitary confinement for 555 days and has not been able to contact his family, nor has he had access to an independent lawyer or contact with family and relatives in Iran. On Saturday, February 5, Iranian state media reported that his trial would begin the following day. The family found out about the trial again only through the media. On February 6, Jamshid Sharmahd's trial began, which must be judged a political show trial as it is partially broadcast in the Iranian state media. The family is extremely concerned: Jamshid Sharmahd is severely emaciated and "not himself anymore". He is before the Revolutionary Court 15, which is presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, notorious as the “death judge”. The charge is "corruption on earth," which means the death penalty in the medieval legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Judge Salavati is known to impose the death penalty. The last victim was Ruhollah Zam. Journalist Zam was also kidnapped to Iran and hanged there in December 2020.

Part of the verdicts issued by Salavati:

Ruhollah Zam was sentenced to death with 17 charges.

In the case of Environmental Activists, the defendants were not allowed to appoint a lawyer.

Narges Mohammadi was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2014. She was released after about eight years.

Mohsen Amir Aslani was sentenced by Salavati and executed on 24 September 2014 in the Rajaei Shahr prison of Karaj on the charge of different interpretations of the Quran.

Zahra Bahrami, an Iranian-Dutch citizen who was arrested in the Ashura protests of 2008, was a citizen of the Netherlands so the death sentence for the crime of participating in demonstrations would have had political consequences, so Salavati accused her of drug trafficking and sentenced her to be executed on 22 January 2011.

Salavati judged and issued a ten-year prison sentence for Omid Kokabi in May 2013 on the charge of cooperating with a hostile country. Kokabi was an elite student of atomic physics in America and ranked 29th in Iran’s national entrance exam. However, it was reported that the main reason for his verdict was that Kokabi had not agreed to cooperate with the regime’s military universities.

The death sentences and imprisonments issued by Salavati in 2008 are as follows:

Mohammadreza Alizamani (execution)

Arash Rahmanipour (execution)

Abdol Reza Ghanbari (execution)

Amirreza Arefi, Majid Tavakoli (8 and a half years imprisonment)

Rasool Badaghi (6 years imprisonment),

Qasim Sholeh Saadi (3 years imprisonment)

This judge that Jamshid Shamarhd is same one responsible for the following

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