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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Veronica Mayer
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 (703) 566-3041

GLA Seeks U.N. Support for Broadcaster

Kidnapped in Dubai, Held Hostage by Iran
Submits Application for Relief to U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

(Washington, D.C.) On Monday, March 1, 2021, the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) applied for
relief with the ​United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of, Mr.
Jamshid Sharmahd, a broadcaster based out of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Sharmahd was
kidnapped in Dubai and unlawfully imprisoned by the Iranian regime. He has been in
Iranian custody since last summer.

The Iranian Intelligence Minister stated that Mr. Sharmahd was “captured…in a complex
operation,” which indicates that the Iranian government was involved in his multinational
abduction. In the filing, GLA expressed the urgency of his case, as other opposition leaders
have been executed on trumped up charges.

“As the Biden administration develops its Iran policy, it must prioritize the release of Mr.
Sharmahd and all hostages in Iran. There should be no talks with Iran until the hostages are
freed,” GLA President Jason Poblete said. “Mr. Sharmahd’s alleged kidnapping in Dubai
must also be investigated,” added Poblete.

In a February 9, 2021 ​GLA podcast​, Mr. Sharmahd’s daughter in California, Ms. Gazelle
Sharmahd, who is a registered nurse working on the frontlines combatting the COVID-19
pandemic in California, stressed her father’s innocence and expressed concern for his
health. This is not the first time that the Iranian regime has targeted Mr. Sharmahd; in 2009
CNN did a special report on the attempted assassination of Sharmahd by Iran on U.S. soil.

You can read more about Jamshid Sharmahd’s case on his ​family’s website.​ You can read
more about GLA’s advocacy for Mr. Sharmahd on the ​GLA News page,​ and about GLA’s
advocacy for liberty worldwide on the ​GLA website​.

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A part of The Global Rule of Law & Liberty Legal Defense Fund
globallibertyalliance.org
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