Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) is actively following the case of Ahmadreza Djalali, the Iranian-Swedish emergency doctor and VUB guest professor, who has suffered a heart attack while imprisoned in Tehran, and has reached out to the Iranian ambassador to request a meeting.
Djalali’s heart attack became public knowledge on Friday, and according to his wife, he is in critical condition.
Diependaele expressed his deep concern over the situation, stating, “The news of Dr Ahmadreza Djalali’s heart attack deeply affects me. Flanders continues to urge for immediate medical care access and his release.”
Reports indicate that Djalali experienced a heart attack on Thursday evening and was moved to the prison’s medical ward. However, he has been informed that he will not see a cardiologist until Sunday due to the weekend.
Djalali’s wife, Vida Mehrannia, emphasises that his health is rapidly deteriorating, and he urgently needs appropriate medical care as his life is in danger.
Amnesty International has also raised alarms over Djalali’s health. “Ahmadreza Djalali must immediately receive the necessary medical attention and be reunited with his family in Sweden. Iran should release him, and both Sweden and Belgium must do everything in their power to make this happen. His life depends on it,” stated Wies De Graeve, Director of Amnesty International Flanders.
Djalali was arrested in 2016 during a trip to Iran and sentenced to death in 2017 on charges of ‘espionage’. In June 2024, Iran released two other imprisoned Swedish citizens in exchange for an Iranian former official, but Djalali was not included in the exchange, a decision he has repeatedly criticised through his wife.
