Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic, has been arbitrarily detained in Iran for over eight years. He is now at grave risk of execution, having exhausted all legal avenues to overturn his death sentence. From June 26 to July 4, 2024, Ahmadreza went on a hunger strike to protest his continued detention following a prisoner swap between Iran and Sweden on June 15, 2024. The Iranian authorities must quash Ahmadreza Djalali’s conviction and death sentence, which were imposed after grossly unfair trial proceedings. He should be released immediately.
Here’s what you can do:
Write to the Head of Judiciary urging the Iranian authorities to:
- Immediately halt any plans to execute Ahmadreza Djalali, quash his conviction and death sentence, and release him immediately due to the arbitrary nature of his detention and the severe non-observance of his fair trial rights.
- Pending his release, provide Ahmadreza Djalali with adequate medical care and protect him from further torture and other ill-treatment.
- Conduct prompt, independent, effective, and impartial investigations into those suspected of ordering, committing, aiding, or abetting unlawful acts against Ahmadreza Djalali, and bring those responsible to justice in fair trials.
- Establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
Write to:
Head of judiciary,
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei
c/o Embassy of Iran to the European Union,
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt No. 15, 1050 Bruxelles,
Belgium
Salutation: Dear Mr. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,
Swedish nationals held hostage and released
On June 15, 2024, the Swedish government pardoned Hamid Nouri, leading to his return to Iran. This action confirmed Amnesty International’s concerns that Iran was holding Swedish nationals as hostages to exchange for Nouri. Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi, both Swedish nationals, returned home the same day after enduring numerous human rights violations in Iran.
Amnesty International warned that Sweden’s decision to release Nouri contributes to the impunity crisis in Iran. This action emboldens Iranian authorities to commit more international crimes, including hostage-taking, without fear of consequences. It undermines the right to justice for survivors and victims’ families and raises concerns about Sweden’s commitment to international law.
Ahmadreza Djalali’s ordeal
Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic, has been held hostage by Iranian authorities who threatened to execute him. On December 19, 2023, the Svea Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and life sentence. The following day, Iranian state media aired a propaganda video with Djalali’s forced “confessions,” accusing him of being a spy for Israel.
In August 2017, Djalali wrote from prison that he was tortured to force a confession, including threats against his family. He was held because he refused to use his academic ties to spy for Iran. The same video included forced confessions from Habib Chaab, a Swedish-Iranian national secretly executed on May 6, 2023.
Continued human rights violations
Ahmadreza Djalali, a medical doctor and academic, was living in Sweden and working as a visiting professor in Brussels. He was arrested on April 26, 2016, during a business trip to Iran and held in Evin prison. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for his immediate release in November 2017, citing severe violations of his fair trial rights.
From late November 2020 to April 2021, Djalali was tortured and held in prolonged solitary confinement. He suffered mental distress and inadequate health care. On July 3, 2024, while on hunger strike, he was briefly transferred to Evin prison’s medical clinic due to his deteriorating health.
Escalation of executions in Iran
Following the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising from September to December 2022, Iranian authorities have increased their use of the death penalty to instill fear and maintain power. In 2023, they carried out at least 853 executions. As of June 30, 2024, there have been at least 274 executions.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, as it violates the right to life and is a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.
Please take action as soon as possible until September 27, 2024! The UA will be duly updated should there be the need for further action.
