Germany today said it was expelling two diplomats from the Iranian embassy in Berlin over the death sentence against an Iranian-German national.
After the death penalty verdict Tuesday against Jamshid Sharmahd, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement Berlin was "declaring two Iranian embassy staff members to be persona non grata" and "ordering them to leave Germany immediately".
Baerbock said she had summoned Iran's charge d'affaires over the case of Sharmahd, who supporters say was abducted abroad and forcibly returned to Iran for a show trial.
"We call on Iran to reverse the death penalty for Jamshid Sharmahd and to make it possible for him to have a fair appeal based on the rule of law," she said.
In a separate move. An Austrian national was sentenced to 7.5 years in jail in Iran for alleged espionage, according to Austria's foreign ministry, which summoned the Iranian ambassador to express 'unequivocal protest'.
Iran currently holds at least 17 detained Western nationals, many of whom are dual Iranian citizens. It has been known to engage in 'hostage diplomacy', where it detains international passport holders in an attempt to gain concessions or ransoms from foreign powers.
