A German Bundestag politician has adopted a 16-year-old girl facing the death penalty in Iran after she was accused of crimes against god for protesting against the government regime.

German CDU politician Katja Leikert who is the MP for Hanau in the German Parliament (Bundestag ) revealed she had ‘politically adopted’ the case of Sonia Sharifi, seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence agency during protests in Abdanan.

Leikert who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2013 explained: “The 16-year-old #SoniaSharifi was arrested a month ago by the Iranian regime. I have taken out a political adoption for her, and I’m campaigning for her release. #IranProtests.”

Sonia has reportedly been repeatedly beaten in jail.

Her family have been told that she has been charged with Muharebeh, which is offending religion and carries the death penalty.

A political adoption is part of an initiative by the International Society For Human Rights where politicians around the world adopt the cases of political prisoners and human rights campaigners facing persecution in other countries in order to campaign for their release.

Members of Parliament are urged to select a specific political prisoner and then use their position to campaign for their freedom which includes contacting the relevant government and embassies, and also attempting to raise international awareness.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Shirin Ebadi who supports the project said: “It is the special responsibility of politicians to make the human rights situation around the world an issue – not just in their own.

“The violation of human rights must not be accepted anywhere, because all people are free and born with equal rights. Politicians should actively raise human rights issues in bilateral talks with the Iranian government.”

She added that in particular media exposure was important stating: “Even torture states like the Islamic Republic of Iran or the People’s Republic of China want to maintain a semblance of legality to the outside world. Politically and economically,

“Germany is an extraordinarily important country for both countries. Experience shows that countries such as Iran are very tentative to requests from German MPs and events that affect Iran.

“In the past, the actions of politicians have resulted in very significant improvements for the vast majority of prisoners served: commutation of death sentences to prison terms, significant reductions in arbitrary prison sentences, an end to the ill-treatment and, in many cases, release.”

In the case of Sonia Sharifi, the Iranian officials told the family she could be released on bail, but set the amount at USD 30,000, which the family were unable to raise.

A friend of the girl said: “Her family is poor and her father is a construction worker. They cannot afford to pay the heavy bail.”