4th anniversary of the kidnapping of Jamsheed Sharmahd

by Dr. Walid Phares (August 2, 2024)

This week is the fourth anniversary of the kidnapping of Jamsheed Sharmahd (a dual German-American national born in Iran) by Islamic Regime operatives who transferred him to Iran, where he was subject to torture and sentenced to death by Khomeinist courts.

“Jimmy” (as he is called by his family) was an IT specialist based in #LosAngeles and was also a freedom activist seeking to educate the population of his mother country on how to use special online access points to connect with the outside world.

Jimmy was traveling to India for business during the summer of 2020 when, because of Covid, he had to stop in #Dubai where Iranian agents (who were apparently monitoring him) captured him and transferred him via #Oman and the Gulf to Iran where he was jailed in an undisclosed location. 

Mr. Sharmahd was forgotten by the free world in an isolated cell for four years in the most miserable inhuman conditions and remains a hostage at the mercy of a regime oppressing its own people and disregarding the basic human rights of its citizens.

Despite all “hostage deals” cut between the administration and the Khomeinist rulers, the “Vaclav Havel of Iran,” as I baptized him last year, wasn’t included in any so-called arrangement between Washington and Tehran. Not even the exchange last September which involved bringing home a few US hostages and payment of a six billion dollar ransom to the Iranian regime!

No one knows why “Jimmy” was not included in that transaction by the Biden administration. I recently described Jimmy as “unnegotiable” and called on Congress to investigate. He should not be unnegotiable. He should have been a non-negotiable.

But why is this case important for America? Multiple reasons can be cited. One is the fact that his name was never mentioned by the White House, with no valid reason for his exclusion – unless there are matters the administration is not sharing with the public. What is the administration hiding from the American people?

Second, very importantly, Mr. Jamsheed Sharmhad was kidnapped outside the US, and from a country that is under American protection and known for its tough stance on terrorism. If an American national can be seized from a place under direct US protection, it is a matter of grave concerns to all Americans.

This case is important to me personally because his daughter @GazelleSharmahd and I have partnered to launch two projects relevant to America’s national security and international human rights: #EducateAmerica, a platform to reform Middle East studies, and “War and Freedom: Insight Talks,” a podcast aimed at informing the public about the crises in the region and US Policy.” Through this partnership, I had the opportunity to get to know his courageous family and understand the importance of bringing him back home.

Even so, unbeknownst to his wife and children at the time, I had actively tried to recover “Jimmy” just one week after he was abducted. Three years before I met his family and joined the campaign led by his daughter to free him, I heard about his capture (in early August 2020) via Arabic media. Feeling in solidarity with “Jimmy,” I decided to reach out to the US Government and demand an immediate action to free him immediately and return him to his loved ones. But no one was willing to listen, and the media didn’t move an inch.

I had my own reasons why I wanted to do something about it. During the 1980s, while the war in Lebanon was raging, I was myself kidnapped then immediately freed, and knew the horrific feelings of being cut off from your family. Thus, when I learned about Sharmahd’s capture and transfer to Iran, I had an emotional reaction to the report and decided to try something. Alas, the summer of riots in the US blocked all efforts. I did not know – nor had ever met – his family at that point. Three years later, by pure chance, I saw a video produced by his daughter Gazelle, and it moved me again to help.

Since I joined the impressively organized #SaveJimmy campaign, I have learned from the various events and meetings what the holdups blocking his release are, and I made disturbing connections with the case I laid out in my own book: Iran: Imperialist Republic and US Policy, published at the end of 2022. This was not a simple case of abduction for a ransom. It was at the heart of the mega Iran Deal, involving wider policies and strategies by multiple powerful camps.

Gazelle, with sophisticated communication skills in three languages (English, German and Farsi), has done a remarkable job bringing awareness to the public and has been organizing for her father and for the people in Iran. Speaking at the UN, in the US Congress, to the European Parliament, and addressing an international human rights convention in Geneva, she admirably represented her family and her captive father.

Today is the fourth anniversary of Jimmy’s dark fate. But I hope and believe that this should be the last anniversary. We want to bring him back to his wife and children and be greeted by the many friends and supporters of his cause in the very near future. But that will only be possible by shedding as much light as possible on the situation – and with the best timing. And perhaps on a day where we are watching others being reunited with their loved ones, the truth and the light we shed might actually have the power to set Jimmy free.