Germany announced Wednesday it is expelling two Iranian diplomats in response to Iran’s sentencing a German national to death.
The move came a day after Iranian authorities announced the sentence for Jamshid Sharmahd, who was convicted of terrorism charges.
Iran accused Sharmahd, a German Iranian with U.S. residency, of leading the armed wing of a pro-monarchist group. His family said he was merely an opposition group spokesman and that Iranian intelligence abducted him.
"We call on Iran to revoke Jamshid Sharmahd's death sentence and provide him with a fair appeal process based on the rule of law," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement Wednesday.
Baerbock said she summoned Iran’s chargé d'affaires, and that Germany does not accept such a “massive violation” of a German citizen’s rights.
In an earlier statement Tuesday, Baerbock said Sharmahd was arrested under “highly questionable circumstances” and that he “never had even the semblance of a fair trial.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
