Daughter of California man on death row in Iran files criminal complaint against Tehran in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — The daughter of a California-based man sentenced to death in Iran has asked authorities in Germany to open criminal proceedings against members of the Iranian judiciary. The family of Jamshid Sharmahd, who is a German-Iranian citizen, says he was abducted by Iran while staying in Dubai three years ago. Iranian authorities accused him of planning a 2008 attack that killed 14 people and wounded over 200 others. German and European diplomats have condemned the verdict. Sharmahd’s daughter filed a criminal complaint with the German federal prosecutor’s office against eight high-ranking members of Iran’s judiciary and the intelligence service. Germany follows the principle of universal jurisdiction, under which authorities can investigate serious crimes committed elsewhere in the world.