Dr. Djalali has been unjustly detained by the Iranian Government since April 2016

Ahmadreza Djalali is an Iranian-Swedish scientist and emergency disaster medicine expert. He is a professor at the Free University Brussels (VUB) and worked as a scientist at the Research Center in Emergency Disaster Medicine (CRIMEDIN) in Italy conducting humanitarian work.

On April 24, 2016, Dr. Djalali was arrested by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence when visiting Tehran University at their official invitation (UANI). Djalali managed to smuggle a letter out of prison, in which he wrote the regime took him into custody for refusing to spy on the European Union states for the Iran Intelligence ministry. Djalali was put in the infamous Evin Prison upon his arrest and charged with “collaborating with enemy states” without a trial. In the following months, Djalali was held in prolonged solitary confinement and tortured in ward 209. In October 2017, after an extremely biased trial, Djalali was sentenced to death due to offences of “corruption on earth”. The trial largely relied on Djalali’s false confession that he states was attained through coercion and under torturous conditions of his time spent in prolonged solitary confinement, and denied access to legal counsel. His execution has been scheduled and delayed numerous times, leaving Djalali and his family in a chronic state of distress.

As of January 2023, Djalali is reported to still be charged with the death penalty in Iran, awaiting execution for over 5 years since his sentencing in October 2017.

Sign and share this letter to urge the Canadian Government to take a strong stance and engage in diplomatic efforts to pressure the Iranian Government to release Dr. Djalali immediately. Some asks included are:

1. Direct relevant authorities to immediately release Dr. Djalali and, pending such action, to ensure his well-being and access to legal counsel, family, and medical treatment on humanitarian grounds

2. Fulfill the responsibility, as a strong international voice, to continue to advocate for individuals to access the rights they are entitled to by giving a floor speech on Dr. Djalali’s case and its urgency

3. Call upon the state of Iran to repeal or amend articles 186, 498, 610, 638 and 639 of the Islamic Penal Code, which criminalize rights regarding freedom of expression.

4. Urge other states and organizations in condemning the Iranian state for its gross continued human rights violations.