Ahmedreza Djalali, a Swedish scientist/physician/lecturer for emergency and disaster medicine has been sentenced and incarcerated in Iran for allegedly spying. He is, at this time, very ill and in need of emergency medical care.
Ali Alghasi Mehr
Prosecutor General of Tehran
Corner (Nabsh-e) of 15 Khordad Square
Tehran, Iran
Dear Prosecutor General Mehr:
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 write to express, in the strongest possible terms, our concern for our colleague, Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, who has been sentenced to death in Iran after a grossly unfair trial. It is our understanding that he is now very ill. We urge you to take all possible steps to support Ahmadreza and to ensure that he is transferred to a public hospital for urgent medical care and possible surgery.
Dr. Djalali is a dual citizen of Sweden and Iran who, before his arrest in Iran, resided with his family in Sweden and taught Disaster Medicine in Italy for a Master’s Degree program organized jointly by the Università̀ degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale and the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium.
He was convicted in a revolutionary court overseen by Judge Abolqasem Salavati on espionage charges, specifically spying on Iran for Israel. He was sentenced to death on October 21, 2017. Following his arrest in Tehran in April 2016, he was held in solitary confinement, 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. It is very unclear to us why he has been targeted in this manner, but our main concern now is his health, which we are told is deteriorating significantly. Over 130 Nobel Laureates recently appealed to the government of Iran on Dr. Djalali’s behalf.
Please do whatever you can to ensure that he receives immediate, proper and adequate medical care, including granting his request for hospitalization at a public medical facility, and any surgery he may require as well as having time to receive adequate care, should he need surgery, and time to recuperate.
We thank you for your attention to this most serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
cc:
H.E. Gholamali Khoshroo
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 687-2020
Fax: (212) 867-7086
Email: iran@un.int
