Tehran: Iranian Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir has announced that the death sentence of Jamshid Sharmahd, the ringleader of the US-based Tondar terrorist group, was ready for execution, but he passed away before it could be carried out. In a press conference on Tuesday, Jahangir addressed concerns from the German government about the trial, emphasizing the independence of Iran's judiciary and its refusal to allow foreign interference in its judicial processes. "It is our legal right to address the crimes of our own citizens," he stressed. According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Sharmahd, a US resident and the leader of the Tondar (Thunder) terrorist group, had been prosecuted by the Iranian Judiciary as an Iranian citizen for orchestrating terrorist activities against the Islamic Republic. He was convicted of planning a terrorist attack in 2008 at a religious congregation center in Shiraz, Fars Province, which resulted in the deaths of 14 people and injuries to nearly 200 others. In April, Iran's Su preme Court upheld Sharmahd's death sentence, initially issued in February on charges of 'corruption on earth' due to his role in planning and executing terrorist acts against Iran. During the court proceedings, a lawyer for the plaintiffs noted that Sharmahd had publicly claimed responsibility for the Shiraz attack through his media outlet and had announced intentions to carry out further acts of terror.