Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic who has been arbitrarily detained in Iran since 2016, is at grave risk of imminent execution in retaliation for the conviction of former Iranian official Hamid Nouri over his role in the 1988 prison massacres.
Amnesty International has called on the Iranian authorities to halt any plans to execute Djalali, release him immediately, and put a moratorium on all executions.
The Swedish appeals court's upholding of Nouri's conviction and life sentence on December 19, 2023, was followed by the release of a propaganda video by Iranian state media on December 20, 2023, containing Ahmadreza Djalali's forced confession, including accusations of spying for Israel. Djalali has repeatedly denied these accusations and said his forced confession was made under torture and other ill-treatment. The propaganda video also included the forced confession of Swedish-Iranian Habib Chaab, who was secretly executed by the Iranian authorities in May 2023, further raising concerns about Djalali's imminent execution.
On December 22, 2023, a judiciary official visited Djalali in prison and warned that his conviction and death sentence would be implemented soon. The official also claimed that Sweden was holding Nouri to pressure Iran to release Djalali. These claims are false, as Djalali has been in prison in Iran since 2016, more than two years before Nouri's arrest.
The Iranian authorities sentenced Djalali to death for "corruption on earth" (efsad-e fel-arz) in October 2017 after a grossly unfair trial. The recent spike in executions in Iran, with at least 115 people executed in November 2023 alone, further underscores the urgency of Djalali's case.
Diana Eltahawy. Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The cruel toying with Ahmadreza Djalali’s life immediately after a Swedish court of appeals upheld the conviction and life sentence against former Iranian prison official Hamid Nouri over his role in the 1988 prison massacres heightens concerns that Iranian officials are holding Ahmadrea Djalali hostage to compel Sweden into a prisoner swap. The international community, including Sweden, must immediately call on the Iranian authorities to halt any plans to execute Ahmadreza Djalali/ Iranian officials must be investigated for the crime of hostage-taking”.
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