...They hate for a show trial.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court convicted Jamshid Sharmahd in connection with the deadly bombing of a mosque in 2008, the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency reported.
Iranian authorities announced in August 2020 that Sharmahd, 67, who is also a German national and a U.S. resident, was arrested in what they described as a "complex operation" without specifying how, where or when he was seized.
His family say that he was kidnapped by the Iranian security services while in transit in Dubai and then brought under duress to Iran.
"They kidnapped Jamshid Sharmahd and now they've sentenced him to death after a sham trial," said the head of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam.
"Basically the Islamic republic is threatening to kill a hostage," he added.
German opposition MP and foreign affairs committee member Norbert Roettgen tweeted that "he was kidnapped by the regime in Iran and now sentenced to death also to put pressure on Germany".
"The government must now make it unmistakably clear that they do not accept this arbitrary judgement and are fighting for the life," he wrote on Twitter.
- 'SCAPEGOATING MY DAD' -
Sharmahd is accused by Iran of leading the Tondar group which aims to topple the Islamic republic and is outlawed as a terrorist organization by Iran.
Mizan said Sharmahd planned to commit 23 "terrorist" acts, of which he succeeded in five, including the bombing of a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on April 12, 2008, which killed 14 people and maimed 300 others.
Prosecutors had also accused Sharmahd of having established contact with "FBI
...Formerly one of the world's premier criminal investigation organizations, something for a nation to be proud of. Now it's a political arm of the Deep State oligarchy that is willing to trump up charges, suppress evidence, or take out insurance policies come election time...
and CIA officers" and of having "attempted to contact Israeli Mossad agents."
Vienna protests as Iran sentences Austrian to 7.5 years for ‘spying’
[IsraelTimes] Austrian foreign ministry summons Iranian envoy to lodge unequivocal protest; two other Austrian nationals among at least 17 Western passport-holders being detained
An Austrian has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail in Iran
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...for spying, Vienna said Tuesday, adding it had summoned the Iranian ambassador.
The foreign ministry had announced the man’s detention in October and said it is in regular contact with his family.
"He was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for alleged espionage, with two years of probation being waived in the case of good behavior," the ministry said.
It found out about the verdict on Monday and summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday to express "our unequivocal protest."
It added the Austrian ambassador in Iran was able to meet the man during three prison visits since his detention.
"We will continue to exhaust all possibilities to give him and all other imprisoned Austrian citizens all over the world the best possible consular support," the ministry said.
At least 17 Western passport-holders are detained in Iran, most of them dual nationals, including two Iranian-Austrians.
Tehran insists all have been subject to a proper judicial process.
Rights groups and supporters however say they are innocent, and that they are being held as part of a policy of hostage-taking to extract concessions from foreign governments.
Activists fear there may be more cases yet to be confirmed.
An Iranian court on Tuesday sentenced to death an Iranian-German national who supporters say was kidnapped abroad and forcibly returned to Iran for a show trial.
Germany has condemned the sentence as "inhuman."
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Jamshid Sharmahd: 2023-01-19 Iran said to arrest German national for photographing oil sites
Jamshid Sharmahd: 2022-02-07 US resident goes on trial in Iran for allegedly planning deadly 2008 mosque bombing
Jamshid Sharmahd: 2020-08-05 Iran abducted California man while in Dubai, his family claims
Jamshid Sharmahd: 2023-01-19 Iran said to arrest German national for photographing oil sites
Jamshid Sharmahd: 2022-02-07 US resident goes on trial in Iran for allegedly planning deadly 2008 mosque bombing
Jamshid Sharmahd: 2020-08-05 Iran abducted California man while in Dubai, his family claims