Swedish-Iranian doctor imprisoned in Iran to be executed this month
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Swedish-Iranian doctor arrested on charges of alleged spying for the Israeli government will be executed within the month, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
Ahmedreza Djalali, an expert in emergency medicine, was arrested during an academic visit to Iran in October 2016 and subsequently sentenced to death the next year on spying charges.
"The death sentence of Ahmedreza Djalali has been placed on the agenda and this sentence will be carried out by the end of May at the latest," ISNA reported.
According to the news outlet, Djalali is accused of the assassination of two nuclear scientists in Iran after he allegedly supplied the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) with information about their rival's nuclear program.
Djalali's execution order follows the conclusion of a former Iranian official's trial in Sweden, suspected of committing war crimes in Iran more than 30 years ago.
Iranian national Hamid Noury, 60, is on trial for “committing grave war crimes and murder in Iran during 1988,” Swedish prosecutors announced on July 27.
Noury had served as assistant to the deputy governor of Gohardasht prison in Karaj, near the Iranian capital of Tehran, when an estimated 5,000 prisoners were killed across the country, following an order from then Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Swedish courts are trying Nouri based on the principle of universal jurisdiction which allows them to tackle grave crimes regardless of where they were committed and if found guilty, Nouri faces a maximum life sentence behind bars.
Sweden's foreign minister on Wednesday slammed Iran's decision to carry out Djalili's execution.
Amnesty International has previously expressed concern about the decision, calling on Iranian authorities to refrain from implementing the execution two years ago.
Jalali was granted Swedish citizenship while in prison in 2018, a move that according to ISNA, was done "in order to put pressure on the Iranian judicial system."
Arrests of dual-nationals in Iran are not uncommon. Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of foreign nationals in recent years, mainly on espionage charges.
Many of the arrests, including British-Iranian prisoners Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, have been used as bargaining chips by the Iranian government. London in March paid Tehran an over £400-million debt, equivalent to over $500 million which allowed Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori to return home after many years of imprisonment on charges of attempting to "topple the Iranian government" and "spying for Israel's Mossad" respectively.
Ahmedreza Djalali, an expert in emergency medicine, was arrested during an academic visit to Iran in October 2016 and subsequently sentenced to death the next year on spying charges.
"The death sentence of Ahmedreza Djalali has been placed on the agenda and this sentence will be carried out by the end of May at the latest," ISNA reported.
According to the news outlet, Djalali is accused of the assassination of two nuclear scientists in Iran after he allegedly supplied the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) with information about their rival's nuclear program.
Djalali's execution order follows the conclusion of a former Iranian official's trial in Sweden, suspected of committing war crimes in Iran more than 30 years ago.
Iranian national Hamid Noury, 60, is on trial for “committing grave war crimes and murder in Iran during 1988,” Swedish prosecutors announced on July 27.
Noury had served as assistant to the deputy governor of Gohardasht prison in Karaj, near the Iranian capital of Tehran, when an estimated 5,000 prisoners were killed across the country, following an order from then Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Swedish courts are trying Nouri based on the principle of universal jurisdiction which allows them to tackle grave crimes regardless of where they were committed and if found guilty, Nouri faces a maximum life sentence behind bars.
Sweden's foreign minister on Wednesday slammed Iran's decision to carry out Djalili's execution.
Extremely worrying media reports today that Iran may enforce the death penalty on Swedish citizen Ahmadreza Djalali. 🇸🇪 and 🇪🇺 condemn the death penalty and demands that Djalali be released. We have repeatedly stated this to Iranian representatives. We are in contact with Iran.
— Ann Linde (@AnnLinde) May 4, 2022
Amnesty International has previously expressed concern about the decision, calling on Iranian authorities to refrain from implementing the execution two years ago.
Jalali was granted Swedish citizenship while in prison in 2018, a move that according to ISNA, was done "in order to put pressure on the Iranian judicial system."
Arrests of dual-nationals in Iran are not uncommon. Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of foreign nationals in recent years, mainly on espionage charges.
Many of the arrests, including British-Iranian prisoners Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, have been used as bargaining chips by the Iranian government. London in March paid Tehran an over £400-million debt, equivalent to over $500 million which allowed Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori to return home after many years of imprisonment on charges of attempting to "topple the Iranian government" and "spying for Israel's Mossad" respectively.