The leaders of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences urges Iran to withdraw the death penalty of Ahmadreza Djalali
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences urges the Iranian government to withdraw the death penalty of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian medical doctor, university lecturer, and researcher in disaster medicine, who has been detained in Evin Prison since April 2016 under harsh conditions.
The leaders of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences consider
Dr. Djalali´s death sentence to be a threat of the independent and open research community. An open letter has been sent to President Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei.
The letter is signed by Christina Moberg, President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Göran K. Hansson, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Read the letter on www.kva.se, or below.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences urges the Iranian government to withdraw the death penalty of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian medical doctor, university lecturer, and researcher in disaster medicine, who has been detained in Evin Prison since April 2016 under harsh conditions.
Dr. Djalali, a permanent resident of Sweden and a Swedish academic colleague of ours, is highly respected for his collaborative international work to improve medical efforts in disaster situations. We understand that he was arrested while visiting Iran, invited by the University of Tehran and Shiraz University, to take part in a series of workshops about best practices in disaster medicine.
Given that no credible evidence has been presented to support the charges against him, it is feared that Dr. Djalali is being prosecuted for his international collaborative medical work in the field of disaster medicine, in violation of his rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Thus, we respectfully request that you use your good offices to revoke his death sentence and ensure that he is subjected to due process and fair trial. We urge you to ensure that Dr. Djalali’s conditions of confinement are brought into conformity with the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), including that he receive all needed medical care.
Sincerely yours,
Christina Moberg
Professor, President
Göran K. Hansson
Professor, Secretary General
Contact
For queries or comments, please contact Jessica Balksjö Nannini, Press officer, jessica.balksjo@kva.se, +46 70 673 96 50.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, founded in 1739, is an independent organization whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines.