Sharmahd’s Mysterious Demise: Was it Death or Deception

A week ago on Monday, Iranian media announced that the death sentence against Djamshid Sharmahd had been carried out. Now the judiciary publishes a new report.

According to new information from the Iranian judiciary, the German-Iranian Djamshid Sharmahd was not executed but died before carrying out his death sentence. “Djamshid Sharmahd was sentenced to death, the sentence was prepared for his execution, but he died before the sentence was carried out,” said justice spokesman Asghar Jahangir on the sidelines of a press conference, according to a report by the Misan’s gate of justice. The spokesman gave no details.

Misan is the official news agency of Iran’s judiciary. On Monday of the previous week, the portal announced that the death sentence against Sharmahd had been carried out. Why the judiciary issued a different account a week later is completely unclear.

The information cannot be independently verified. Iran’s judiciary and state apparatus are considered a black box, and information rarely leaks to the outside world. There were also no details about the location of the body after the execution was announced.

Sharmahd was sentenced to death in the spring of 2023 in a controversial case following terrorist allegations. The federal government, relatives and human rights activists strongly rejected the allegations against him. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) then announced that all Iranian consulates in Germany would be closed and that the affected officials would have to leave the country. Already strained diplomatic relations have reached a new low.