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Dr.Ahmadreza Djalali
Born	(1971-09-15) 15 September 1971
Nationality	Swedish-Iranian
Occupation(s)	Doctor, Lecturer, Researcher

Ahmadreza Djalali, (born 15 September 1971), is an Iranian-Swedish disaster medicine doctor, lecturer and researcher. He was accused of espionage and collaboration with Israel and sentenced to death. He has worked in several universities in Europe, among which Karolinska University of Sweden, where he had also attended his PhD program, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale (Italy), Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium). He also cooperated with universities in Iran and is in contact with universities worldwide, including in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Arrest and imprisonment

In April 2016, when he was visiting Iran, following an invitation from the University of Tehran and Shiraz University, he was arrested upon order of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, without a valid warrant or reason for arrest. Two weeks later he was faced with charges of espionage and collaboration with Israel, the proof being an alleged letter from his spouse, which allegedly contained evidence of the accusations. His family was not informed on his whereabouts for ten days, though they knew he had been arrested. After being held at an unknown location for approx. 7 days, he was transferred to section 209 of Evin prison, where he was held for 7 months. During the calls made to his family, Dr. Djalali said he had been held in solitary confinement for 3 months, and the following months in partial isolation.

Sentence

On the 31 January 2017, after nine months of detention, Dr. Djalali was taken to branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Teheran where he was formally charged with espionage, despite the lack of evidence, and he was told that he could face a death penalty. Reportedly, his lawyer was not allowed to be present at the hearing and he was denied access to the case files.

After more months of unjustified detention, he was sentenced to death on the 21 October 2017 on the charge of “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz). He was then incarcerated at Evin prison. In November 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention formally requested the Iranian Government to provide detailed information about his detention, but it did not receive a response. In late 2018, an Iranian state TV presented him as a spy and showed his alleged confession which, according to Dr. Djalali, was a pre-written text that he was forced to say under threats of execution, and even of harming his loved ones. Attempts by his lawyer to submit appeals for judicial review of the sentence have been rejected, and the last one is apparently still pending.

On July 29, 2019, Dr. Djalali was transferred again from Evin Prison to an unknown location. There, he was severely tortured and threatened with the execution of the death sentence in order to gain more confessions from him.

Health condition

Dr. Djalali's health conditions have been deteriorating since his arrest. In particular, blood tests run in 2018 indicated a low white blood cell count. Subsequently, he was examined by a medical doctor in early 2019 at Evin Prison; he was recommended to be seen by a specialist in haematology in hospital, but this request was denied. The recommended follow-up examinations have not been done. Reportedly, furthermore, Dr. Djalali has lost 24 kg since the time of his arrest. The World Medical Association has taken up his case and its president, Ketan Desai, has written to the Iranian authorities saying that the conditions under which Dr. Djalali is being held contravene medical ethics and human rights law.

International pressure

United Nations

In November 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention formally requested the Iranian Government to provide detailed information about his detention and it did not receive a response. On 9 February 2018, United Nations human rights experts urgently called on Iran to lift the death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali.

United Nations human rights experts appealed to Iran to annul the death sentence against Djalali for the first time during 2017. The experts were Mr. José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Mr. Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Ms. Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and Ms. Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

They adopted the opinion No. 92/2017. On 18 September 2017, the Working Group transmitted allegations to the Government under its regular communications procedure but did not receive a response from the Iranian Government. This document explains why the deprivation of liberty of Ahmadreza Djalali is in contravention of articles 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of articles 7, 9, 10 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and it clearly states that the appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Djalali immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.

United Nations human rights experts repeated their urgent call in 2018.

In the 2020 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, it is stated that "There are persistent concerns about the situation of dual and foreign nationals who remain imprisoned in the Islamic Republic of Iran [...]. Iranian-Swedish citizen Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in October 2017 on espionage charges, was reportedly transferred on 29 July 2019 to an unknown location for approximately 10 days before being returned to Evin Prison. During that time, he was reportedly pressured to confess to further allegations. Mr. Djalali, along with other dual and foreign nationals, including Mr. Ghaderi, have been denied medical treatment, notably for life-threatening conditions."

In the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran 2020, it is underlined that "the security and intelligence officials, including the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have in many cases prevented access to medical care for detainees and prisoners, or made medical attention or transfers to hospital conditional upon confession." In addition, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about the practice of publicizing forced confession: "Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic, had his confession to spying on the Islamic Republic of Iran broadcast on State television in December 2017, five days after the Supreme Court had upheld his death sentence through a hastily convened and secret process during which no submissions from the defence had been allowed" . It is reported Mr. Djalali recorded the confession under duress, after his interrogators had said that he would be released from solitary confinement only if he recorded the confession.

Nobel Laureates

In December 2018, 121 Nobel Laureates wrote an open letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to provide medical assistance for professor Djalali and ask for his release.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International has been closely following and collecting the information about Djalali’s living conditions and health status, especially the inhuman conditions Djalali has experienced during his imprisonment.

Since 2017, Amnesty International has launched the campaign to encourage public audiences to write a petition letter and submit to Iranian Supreme Leader Office, President of Iran, and Chief Justice of Iran (head of the Judiciary), to ask for an immediate release of Djalali, and a proper health medication, to ensure Djalali’s safety, and his accessibility to lawyer and family, including the Swedish consular to meet him.

The 2020 Nowruz Action is a campaign to support prisoners of conscience in Iran on the occasion of Iranian traditional new year festival. Amnesty encourages public audiences to send supporting messages to the prisoners and their families. This year Amnesty International selected seven cases of political prisoners and academic prisoners, among which was Djalali’s case, to represent the Amnesty’s Nowruz campaign.

Scholars at Risk Network (SAR)

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of institutions and individuals to promote academic freedom and protect scholars from academic freedom threats . SAR has been engaging and pushing public campaigns to support Dr. Djalali, for example, by releasing letters to public authorities in Iran and conducting online activities via social networks. In January 2018, SAR published the campaign ‘#SaveAhmad’ through social media to exert pressures to public institutions to support Dr. Djalali’s release . In March 2020, in response to COVID-19 pandemic, SAR has issued the letter to Iranian authorities to unconditionally release Dr. Djalali because of his health conditions .

European universities

In November 2017, European University Association (EUA) put pressure on Iranian authorities for a reversal of Djalali’s capital sentence and an instant release of Djalali. The EUA wrote a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader, and expressed grave concerns about the ongoing harm to Djalali and his family.

In April 2018, Flemish University Council (VLIR) decided to postpone all academic cooperation with Iranian universities and institutions in response to Iranian authorities’ decision to imprison and lay down death sentences over Dr. Djalali, one of the professors of Brussel Free University. On this occasion, the Council expressed deep concerns about the professor's imprisonment and requested the Iranian authorities to provide him medical care. The University Council posited that the Flemish universities’ cooperation with Iranian institutions would not be continued if the Iranian government did not take any actions to support Dr. Djalali.

On 31 October, the Università degli studi del Piemonte, the Karolinska University and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel sent a letter to the head of the judiciary of Iran, Sadegh Larijani asking for Dr. Djalali immediate release. In the letter the universities recalled the excellent reputation of Dr. Djalali recalled the right to freedom of expression.

Case update

2020

• After the widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Iranian authorities have released 85,000 individuals from prisons, including political prisoners . Among this number, Dr. Djalali was not in the list .

2018

• The Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UN) repeated their urgent call for Dr. Djalali’s release
• On February 05, FIDU (Federazione Italiana Diritti umani), Iran Human Rights, ECPM – Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort and Nessuno tocchi caino (Hands off Caino) sent a letter to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in order to ask to take urgent action and to obtain an immediate suspension of the death sentence.
• On May 3, the Scholars at risk network wrote a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

2017

• A petition was started for the release of Dr. Djalali on change.org and it succeeded in obtaining more than 320.000 signatures. The petition was directed to Iranian Authorities and to the former President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, among others.
• On 31 October, the Università degli studi del Piemonte, the Karolinska University and the Vrije Universitet Brussel sent a letter to the head of the judiciary of Iran, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani asking for Dr. Djalali immediate release. In the letter the universities recalled the excellent reputation of Dr. Djalali and recalled the right to the freedom of expression.
• On November 13, the European University Association sent a letter to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
• The Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UN) adopted opinion No. 92/2017 at its eightieth session, 20–24 November. The Working Group transmitted the source’s allegations to the Iranian Government and requested the Government to provide, by 17 November, detailed information about the current situation of Dr. Djalali and any comments on the source’s allegations. The opinion received no feedback.

See also

• Niloufar Bayani
• Scholars at Risk

External links

• Letter from EUA calling for release
• SAR Case Information on Djalali
• Human Rights in Iran (UN page)
• International Observatory of Human Rights Video on the case