This week on the GLA podcast, GLA President Jason Poblete speaks with Ms. Gazelle Sharmahd, the daughter of Mr. Jamshid Sharmahd. A U.S. Legal Permanent resident based with his family in California, Jamshid was kidnapped and taken hostage by the regime on or about August 1, 2020. A registered nurse working on the pandemic's frontlines, Gazelle is one of her father's strongest advocates for his release.
Jamshid, an Iranian-German national, has witnessed the hardship of an oppressive government, which has been ruling over Iran since 1979. He was forced to flee Iran because he did not share the same ideals as the Islamic Regime. Jamshid has always stood up for justice and basic human rights like freedom of speech. According to Gazelle and her family, America was only the country that wholeheartedly accepted Jamshid and her family.
Jamshid's recent abduction was not the first time the Iranians have intimidated or harassed this family. In 2011, as CNN reported, Iran attempted to assassinate him on U.S. soil, a plot foiled by the FBI. Despite the challenges, Gazelle shares with Jason how their family has persevered and remains singularly focused on liberating Jamshid from Iranian captivity.
Iran has been using hostage-taking and kidnapping as a tool of state since the 1980s. There are currently several Americans held hostage in Iranian prisons, as well as many other foreigners such as Jamshid. What is particularly disturbing about this case is that several foreign governments may have been involved, facilitated, or allowed Iranian agents to kidnap a dissident. Jamshid had not traveled to Iran, he was on his way back to the United States after a business trip and had traveled through Germany and the UAE en route to California.
Further reading
Free our kidnapped father, Jamshid Sharmahd, from the Islamic Regime of Iran (Change.Org Petition).
Why Is Iran Kidnapping and Executing Dissidents? (New York Times, Jan 12, 2021).
How to Stop Iran From Terrorizing Dissidents Abroad (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 30. 2020)
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Hostages in Iran, Part 2: Dissident Journalist Kidnapped and Held Hostage by Iran