The Iranian-Swedish professor Ahmadreza Djalali – the VUB guest lecturer who has been detained on false charges in Iran since 2016 – is in danger of a possible imminent execution, according to human rights organisation Amnesty International.
Djalali, a scientist and academic, has been imprisoned in Iran for nine years now. He was arrested and charged with espionage during a working visit to the country in April 2016. While he never got a fair trial, he was sentenced to death a year later, but that execution was not carried out.
Djalali was transferred from Iran's Evin Prison to another prison, the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, along with other prisoners on Monday 23 June. This transfer appeared to be a consequence of the Israeli bombing of the notorious prison in Tehran earlier that day.
However, Amnesty International has learned that Djalali was taken from this new prison to an unknown location, this time alone. This is "extremely worrying news that may indicate plans to execute the Swedish-Iranian emergency doctor," the organisation said.
Unknown whereabouts
Previously, Amnesty International warned that the escalation of violence between Israel and Iran was leading to internal repression and pointed to a high risk of executions of individuals considered by the Iranian regime to be associated with Israel.
At least two men who were sentenced to death for alleged ties to Israel – Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh and Esmail Fekri – have been executed since the start of the Israeli attack on 13 June.
"Iran must immediately disclose Ahmadreza Djalali's whereabouts and halt all plans to execute him. The man has been unjustly detained for nine years and was sentenced to death after a manifestly unfair trial. Iran must release him immediately," said Wies De Graeve, director of Amnesty International Flanders.
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded promptly to the disturbing news and publicly called on Iran to seek clarification, warn against carrying out the death penalty and release Dr Djalali.
Amnesty International also called on Belgium's Federal Government to use all possible means to urge Iran not to carry out executions and to release Djalali. He was a visiting professor at the VUB, and more than 150,000 people in Belgium demanded that the Iranian authorities release him.
