The Iranian government has designated two German diplomats as personae non gratae and ordered them to leave the country, following a similar move by Germany after a Tehran court sentenced a German citizen to death on terrorism charges.
"The two German diplomats are being expelled due to their country's irresponsible interference in Iran's internal and judicial affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on March 1.
On February 22, Germany’s government announced the expulsion of two employees of the Iranian Embassy in Berlin in response to a death sentence handed down to German-Iranian national and US resident Jamshid Sharmahd.
"The Iranian regime is fighting its own people in every way possible and shows no respect for human rights," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the time.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged the Iranian authorities to revoke the death sentence and allow the 67-year-old activist and software developer to “have an appeal that is fair and in line with the rule of law.”
The verdict against Sharmahd can be appealed before the Supreme Court.
Sharmahd’s family accuses Iranian intelligence of abducting him from Dubai in 2020.
When announcing his arrest, the Ministry of Intelligence alleged that he was the “ringleader” of the pro-monarchy Tondar group, which the Islamic Republic blames for a deadly bombing in 2008.
The Los Angeles-based Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar, says it aims to overthrow the Islamic Republic established in 1979. It runs opposition radio and television stations abroad, as well as social media channels.
In a video message posted on Twitter on January 18, Sharmahd’s daughter sharply criticized German authorities for their silence regarding her father's incarceration.
Ghazaleh Sharmahd said that over the past year, her father has been tortured, "his teeth have fallen out, he has lost 20 kilos, and he is unable to walk or breathe easily."
In August 2022, Amnesty International said that the Iranian authorities “have forcibly disappeared and are torturing” Sharmahd. The London-based human rights watchdog said the suspect was facing a “grossly unfair” trial.
Apart from Sharmahd, Iran is holding at least 16 other Western citizens, most of whom are dual nationals.
Western governments have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage for the sole purpose of using them in prisoner swaps.
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