On May 4, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported about the impending execution. Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, who has a PhD in disaster medicine from Karolinska Institutet, was arrested in Iran while he visited the country to participate in a series of workshops in 2016, and sentenced to death for allegations of espionage in 2017.
Karolina Catoni at the University of Gothenburg's International Centre is the contact person for the Swedish section of Scholars at Risk, SAR, which fights for Djalali's cause.
“The allegations of espionage are unsubstantiated and Dr. Djalali has been denied the right to appeal. His medical condition deteriorated sharply when he was in solitary confinement for 141 days, and he has been denied access to appropriate medical care. He has not been allowed to see his lawyer or his Iranian family, nor has he been able to make calls to his wife or children in Sweden”, she says.
Appeal to the government
Last week, Scholars at Risk sent mails to, among others, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde and Minister for Education Anna Ekström with an appeal to the government to do everything in its power to prevent the execution. Letters were also sent to Sweden's Members of the European Parliament, and to the Iranian authorities.
“Dr. Djalali and his family have been living a nightmare for the past six years. His life must be saved. He must be released. We respectfully urge you to do everything in your power to prevent the execution and secure Dr. Djalali’s release and safe return to Sweden and to his wife and two children", Scholars at Risk writes in the letter.
Read the letter at Scholars at Risk homepage, where you also can sign a letter of appeal. https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/2022/05/halt-the-execution-of-dr-ahmadreza-djalali/
