Iran Executes Jamshid Sharmahd, California Man Abducted During Flight Layover and Convicted on Terror Charges

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces, has been executed in Iran after being convicted on terror charges that his family disputes, the country’s judiciary reported on Monday.

Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd has been executed in Iran after being convicted on terror charges. MIZAN NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, Sharmahd’s execution occurred Monday morning. Iran accused him of orchestrating a 2008 attack on a mosque that killed 14 people and injured over 200 others.

Additionally, he was charged with plotting other assaults through the little-known Kingdom Assembly of Iran and its militant wing, Tondar. The Iranian government also claimed Sharmahd “disclosed classified information” regarding missile sites belonging to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard during a television program in 2017.

Sharmahd at a hearing in Tehran on Feb. 6, 2022. MIZAN NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

“Without a doubt, the divine promise regarding the supporters of terrorism will be fulfilled, and this is a definite promise,” the judiciary stated while announcing his execution.

His family has consistently denied the allegations and worked tirelessly for years to secure his release, although they could not be immediately reached for comment following the news.

At the time of his abduction, Sharmahd was in Dubai attempting to travel to India for a business deal involving his software company, hoping to catch a connecting flight despite the global travel disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A demonstrator holding a “Free Jamshid” during a protest in front of the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin on July 31, 2023. hoto by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

The last message his family received from him was on July 28, 2020, and the circumstances surrounding his abduction remain unclear. However, tracking data indicated that Sharmahd’s mobile phone moved south from Dubai to Al Ain on July 29, crossing into Oman and remaining overnight near an Islamic school in al-Buraimi. By July 30, the phone signal was tracked to the Omani port city of Sohar, where it subsequently stopped.

Two days later, Iranian authorities announced they had captured Sharmahd in a “complex operation,” with the Intelligence Ministry releasing a photograph of him blindfolded.