Alarming information about Ahmadreza Djalali
On Tuesday morning alarming and ominous signals came from Iran that the death sentence against the former KI researcher and Swedish citizen Ahmadreza Djalali might soon be carried out.
The rumour has not been confirmed and KI is now working with Amnesty International and Lars Adaktusson MP, who is actively engaged in the case, in a prompt effort to obtain further information.
“If these signals are correct it is extremely concerning. We must act forcefully and jointly to make sure that the death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali is not implemented. There are many of us who are engaged in his case and I urge everyone to do what they can to support him now,” says Ole Petter Ottersen, president of Karolinska Institutet.
KI alumnus and researcher Ahmadreza Djalali was arrested by the Iranian police four and a half years ago when he was on a lecture tour of the country on his research field, disaster medicine. The accusations against him included espionage and “enmity against God”. The following year, on 21 October 2017, he was sentenced to death after a trial that can only be described as a legal outrage.
“Since then Ahmadreza Djalali has been confined in appalling conditions with the constant threat of death hanging over him. Reports from the prison say that he is in very poor physical health and that he has been severely affected by the pandemic,” says Professor Ottersen
KI is in regular contact with Ahmadreza Djalali’s family and with the legal team pursuing his defence against the Iranian authorities.