Jamshid Sharmahd, who has been sentenced to death in Iran, is a German citizen. For this reason alone, the German judiciary is obligated to investigate this case. This is why his daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, with the support of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin, has filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwalt - GBA) in Karlsruhe. The complaint focuses on eight high-ranking members of the judiciary and the intelligence service in Iran, including Abdolghassem Salavati and Mahmoud Alavi. In addition to addressing the case of Sharmahd, the complaint is intended to trigger structural proceedings and further GBA investigations into Iran.
"The kidnapping in Dubai, the unlawful detention, the torture while in detention, and the imminent execution of my father as a result of a show trial exemplify the untold crimes of the Iranian regime," says Gazelle Sharmahd. "In filing criminal charges, I was able to rely on ECCHR’s expertise in prosecuting human rights crimes. I anticipate that the Federal Prosecutor’s Office will follow our assessment and now comprehensively investigate the Iranian regime." The principle of universal jurisdiction under Section 1 of the German International Code of Crimes empowers the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office to initiate investigations into unjust and repressive state structures in cases of crimes against humanity.
"The regime in Tehran is responsible for the systematic torture, sexual violence, executions and ‘disappearances’ perpetrated against tens of thousands of people – most recently in the wake of the crackdown on the feminist revolution," says ECCHR Secretary General Wolfgang Kaleck. "Whether through criminal charges in Germany in the Sharmahd case, legal action in another country or before an international court, the goal is to bring high-ranking officials of the Iranian government, judiciary, and security apparatus to justice for these crimes."
In support of those affected, ECCHR is actively involved in numerous criminal proceedings, including those addressing state torture in Syria. Based on this experience, ECCHR assumes that the Federal Prosecutor’s Office is already investigating the situation in Iran. The opening of investigations sought after here may also serve to gather evidence of other systematic crimes against humanity in Iran, extending beyond the scope of Sharmahd case, for potential use in future criminal proceedings.
More on the Jamshid Sharmahd case and the legal basis of the criminal complaint here and here.
