Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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Iranian Born Physician Sentenced to Death. Appeals Made to Heads of Countries to Advocate for Reversal of Sentence.

November 10, 2017

In early October, Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a physician and lecturer in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, was training a group of professionals when he was arrested by representatives from the Ministry of Intelligence. He was held at Evin Prison, detained for seven months – three of which were in solitary. He was prevented access to an attorney and reportedly subject to intense interrogation and forced to sign statements under emotional and psychological pressure. In December he was forced to sign a confession to being a spy for a hostile government. He refused and was informed he would be charged with “enmity against God” which carries a death penalty. In protest he began a hunger strike. Eventually he was taken to court without an attorney and informed by the judge that his charge could result in a death sentence. In October that is what resulted – his chosen attorney was not allowed to defend his case, his witnesses were not called nor their materials presented and he was sentenced to death.
CCS has written the President of France, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Chancellor of Germany, the President of Italy and the President of the European Union Commission requesting their support for this case and requesting a reversal of this sentence.
Attached is a copy of the letter that was sent to each of these individuals on behalf of Dr. Djalali and his situation.

 

November 7, 2017

The Honorable Angela Merkel*
Chancellor
Federal Chancellery
Willy-Brandt Strasse 1
10557 Berlin
Republic of Germany

Dear Chancellor Merkel:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world. We are asking for your help in the case of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, who has been sentenced to death in Iran on October 21, 2017, after a grossly unfair trial.

Professor Djalali, a citizen of Iran currently living in Sweden, is a medical doctor and lecturer at Stockholm Medical University – the Karolinska Institute, where he received Ph.D. in Disaster Medicine in 2012. Following his arrest in Tehran in April 2016, he was held in solitary confinement in Evin prison, subjected to abuse, denied access to a lawyer of his choice, and forced to sign a confession. We are unaware of any evidence supporting the accusations against him.

Attached is Dr. Djalali’s letter from Evin prison that details his interrogation and trial.

Please do whatever you can to prevent such a profound injustice that threatens the life of a respected scientist and medical doctor.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

 

*(This letter also sent to the the President of France, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Chancellor of Germany,
the President of Italy and the President of the European Union Commission)

Filed Under: Iran, Prominent Cases Tagged With: Death Sentence, Djalali, Physician, Sweden

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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Committee of Concerned Scientists

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