Swedish-Iranian academic at risk of execution ‘held hostage’: Amnesty

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Swedish-Iranian academic at risk of imminent execution in Iran is being "held hostage" by Iran to oblige Sweden and Belgium to hand over two former Iranian officials, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

Ahmadreza 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.

“Iranian authorities are committing the crime of hostage-taking against Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic who is at risk of imminent execution in Tehran’s Evin prison,” the rights watchdog said in a statement. 

Former prison official Hamid Noury is being tried in Sweden over his alleged involvement in Iranian prison massacres in 1988, with the verdict expected on July 14. Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned Noury’s trial, calling for his release.

In Belgium, former Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi is serving a 20-year prison sentence for plotting a bomb attack in Paris in 2018. Assadi is widely believed to be the mastermind behind the thwarted attack. Iran has condemned the verdict, and made efforts to secure his release.

“The Iranian authorities are using Ahmadreza Djalali’s life as a pawn in a cruel political game, escalating their threats to execute him in retaliation for their demands going unmet,” Amnesty’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, said. 

“The Iranian authorities must halt any plans to execute Ahmadreza Djalali, release him immediately and offer reparations for the harm they have caused him,” Eltahawy added. 

Amnesty stated that its findings since at least 2020 show that since Assadi’s trial began, the situation turned into “one of hostage-taking.”

Last week, Iran’s foreign ministry said Djalali’s execution may be postponed but would definitely go ahead. 

“His situation is absolutely clear … his sentence is definite and the judiciary has announced that. What I said was that there has been a request about the timing of the execution of the sentence, and this is under consideration," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said. 

According to Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency, Djalali is accused of the assassination of two nuclear scientists in the country after he allegedly supplied the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) with information about their rival's nuclear program.

Djalali was granted Swedish citizenship in 2018, a decision which ISNA claims was made "in order to put pressure on the Iranian judicial system."

Iran confirmed on Tuesday the arrest of two French nationals, saying they met with protesting teachers and took part in an anti-government rally. Last week, France condemned the arrests and called for their immediate release.

There are numerous foreign nationals detained in Iran including American, British and Swedish nationals. Activists and critics of the regime in Iran argue that foreign nationals are detained in an attempt to extract concessions from the West.