June 21, 2024
The Right Honorable Ulf Kristersson
Prime Minister of Sweden
Herkulesgatan 17
SE 103 33 Stockholm
Sweden
Email (Hanna Stromberg, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister):
hanna.stromberg@regeringskansliet.se
Dear Prime Minister Kristersson:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent, fifty-year-old 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.
In the past, we had asked your office to do everything in its power to achieve the release from prison of a renowned medical doctor, Ahmadreza Djalali, a dual citizen of Sweden and Iran, who is on death row in Iran for an invented crime he had not committed. Djalali, an expert in Disaster Medicine who lived with his family in Stockholm, was taken hostage on his 2016 visit to Iran after he refused to provide information about European critical infrastructure to Iranian intelligence officers. The news about Djalali’s unlawful imprisonment and death sentence reverberated around the world. It generated a great international effort on his behalf.
In recent years, Iran repeatedly expressed a desire to swap Djalali for Hamid Nouri, an Iranian official imprisoned in Sweden for his role in the disappearance and execution of thousands of Iranian political dissidents. Last week, we learned Sweden chose to swap Nouri for a Swedish diplomat, Johan Floderus, and a dual citizen, Saeed Azizi, both wrongly imprisoned in Iran. We are happy for Mr. Floderus, Dr. Azizi, and their families. At the same time, we are disappointed Djalali was left behind. His family is devastated by this news. So are the human rights organizations and individuals, including over 150 Nobel laureates, who signed appeals on Djalali’s behalf.
Djalali must be the most prominent person taken hostage by Iran. Every day may be his last. He and his family have been living with that thought for seven years. We find it difficult to understand why Sweden did not prioritize his release in the latest exchange of prisoners with Iran. We trust you will do everything in your power to achieve this goal.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists