Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrives to speak at the 11th Emergency Session of the United Nations on February 23, 2023, in New York City. She slammed the execution of German-Iranian activist on Tuesday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
German authorities summoned the Iran ambassador on Tuesday after the execution of German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd the day before.
The German Foreign Office said on X the Iranian Charge d’affaires was summoned to its office on Tuesday to explain the execution. Advertisement
“We have conveyed our strong protest against the actions of the regime and reserve the right to take further action,” the foreign office said. “Our ambassador in Tehran today delivered a demarche to the Iranian foreign minister and protested in the strongest possible terms the murder of Jamshid Sharmahd.”
The office said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recalled the German ambassador to Berlin for consultation regarding the execution.
Iran’s judiciary announced the execution of Sharmahd, 69, a German citizen who lived in Los Angeles and was sentenced to death on disputed terror charges after he was abducted in Dubain in 2020.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also spoke out against the execution of Sharmahd on social media.
“The execution of Jamshid Sharmahd by the Iranian regime is a scandal that I condemn in the strongest possible terms,” Sholz said.
Gazelle Sharmahd, the daughter of Sharmahd, said she called on Germany and the United States to get involved in freeing her father, prior to the execution. She said the family felt both countries did not do enough to free him. Advertisement
Baerbock defended Germany’s effort to quietly free Sharmahd.
“We have campaigned tirelessly for Jamshid Sharmahd and sent a high-ranking team from the foreign office to Tehran on several occasions,” Baerbock said, according to The Guardian. “We have repeatedly made it clear to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences.”
