Urgent appeal to save Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, at risk of imminent execution
Posted June 9, 2022
Scholars at Risk sent the below letter to officials from the EU, UK, US, and UN urging them to do everything in their power to halt the imminent execution and secure the immediate release of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali. Last month, the spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary stated that Dr. Djalali will be hanged once the review procedure of his case has been completed. SAR understands from Dr. Djalali’s wife, Vida Mehrannia, that she fears Iran may execute Dr. Djalali at any time and without warning.
See how you can help Dr. Djalali here.
Via email
The Honorable Magdalena Andersson
Prime Minister
Sweden
June 9, 2022
RE: Urgent appeal to save Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, at risk of imminent execution
Your Excellency:
I write again on behalf of Scholars at Risk to respectfully urge you to do everything in your power to halt the imminent execution and secure the immediate release of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish scholar of disaster medicine wrongfully sentenced to death in Iran.
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of more than 600 universities and colleges in 42 countries dedicated to protecting the human rights of scholars around the world, and to raising awareness, understanding of, and respect for the principles of academic freedom and its constituent freedoms of expression, opinion, thought, association, and travel. In cases like this, involving infringement of these freedoms, SAR intervenes hoping to resolve matters favorably.
As you know, Dr. Djalali is at imminent risk of execution. On May 4, 2022, it was reported that Iranian authorities were preparing to carry out Dr. Djalali’s execution by May 21. Dr. Djalali’s lawyer requested a retrial of his case after the initial execution date passed. On May 24, the spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary, Massoud Setayeshi, stated that Dr. Djalali will be hanged once the review procedure of his case has been completed. SAR understands from Dr. Djalali’s wife, Vida Mehrannia, that, due to a pattern of limited communication by Iranian authorities, she fears Iran may execute Dr. Djalali at any time and without warning.
The past six years—and especially the past six weeks—have been torturous for Dr. Djalali and his family. We appreciate Sweden’s stated commitment to support Dr. Djalali; however, we cannot overly stress the urgent need to do everything in your power within Sweden and work multilaterally however possible to prevent Dr. Djalali’s execution and secure his release and safe return to Sweden.
We thank you for your attention to this life-and-death matter and look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Robert Quinn
Executive Director
CC:
The Honorable Ann Linde
Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Government of Sweden
The Honorable Roberta Metsola
President of the European Parliament
The Honorable Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission
The Honorable Josep Borrell Fontelles
High Representative/Vice President
European Commission
The Honorable Charles Michel
President of the European Council
The Honorable Alexander De Croo
Prime Minister of Belgium
The Honorable Sophie Wilmès
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions
Kingdom of Belgium
The Honorable Annalena Baerbock
Federal Foreign Minister
German Federal Foreign Office
The Honorable Antony J. Blinken
United States Secretary of State
The Honorable Elizabeth Truss
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
United Kingdom
The Honorable Luigi Di Maio
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Italian Government
The Honorable António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
The Honorable Michelle Bachelet
High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Honorable Javaid Rehman
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Honorable Federico Villegas
President of the Human Rights Council for 2022 and Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations
