
Dr. Djalali is a Swedish-Iranian academic and researcher in Disaster Medicine who was sentenced to death in Iran on false charges of espionage.
Ahmadreza with his wife and two daughters (Screen capture via YouTube/Amnesty International)
In 2016 he was arrested and charged while he was in Iran attending a series of academic workshops. During his imprisonment, he has been subjected to intense psychological torture and forced to sign statements under threats of execution. He has also repeatedly been denied access to his lawyer.
On 24 November, Dr. Djalali phoned his wife Vida Mehrannia with the message that he has to say goodbye; he had been placed in isolation and informed that he would soon be executed. On 25 November 2020, Dr. Djalali’s lawyer confirmed that Iranian authorities intend to execute him imminently.
The Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde called her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to request the Iranian government not to carry out the death sentence. Reports say that Iran rejected Minister Linde’s appeal.