Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic convicted of espionage, as Amnesty International and his family reported Tuesday.
The 45-year-old professor taught at the European Master in Disaster Medicine (EMDM) in Italy—a joint master’s program of the Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He was arrested on charges of “collaboration with a hostile government” while visiting family in Tehran in April 2016 and was later accused of providing information to Israel to aid in the assassination of several senior nuclear scientists.
Amnesty International reports that Djalali’s lawyers were told on December 9, 2017 that the Supreme Court had considered the case and upheld the October 24 sentence in a secret process without allowing them to file defense submissions.
“This is not only a shocking assault on the right to a fair trial," said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, "but is also in utter disregard for Ahmadreza Djalali’s right to life.”
Sweden condemned the sentence in October and reported that it had raised the matter with Iranian envoys in Stockholm and Tehran.
Seventy-five Nobel Prize Laureates petitioned Iranian authorities last month to release Djalali so he could “continue his scholarly work for the benefit of mankind.”
We at Endangered Scholars Worldwide consider this arbitrary sentence a flagrant and unjust violation of the freedom, security, and safety of an academic who is clearly a victim of a political witch hunt—arrested without cause, held for months in solitary confinement, and subjected to physical mistreatment and psychological abuse. We calls upon all international organizations, academic and professional associations, and other groups and individuals devoted to the promotion and defense of human rights to protest and condemn this arbitrary sentence; to call for Djalali’s immediate and unconditional release; and to urge the officials of the Iranian government to respect, guarantee, and implement the provisions and principles of human rights as specified in international conventions and treaties.
Please sign the petition and send appeals to the following:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Jomhouri Street
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 644 11
Website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.Khamenei.ir
Ayatollah Sadeqh Larijani
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
President Hassan Rouhani
The Office of the President
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Javad Zarif
Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Minister’s Office
Imam Khomeini Square
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 66743149
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.ir
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jzarif
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org
Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: sreducation@ohchr.org
David Kaye
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: freedex@ohchr.org
Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Thorbjørn Jagland
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Council of Europe
Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: + 33 3 88 41 27 99
Philippe Boillat
Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law Council of Europe
Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: + 33 3 88 41 27 99