PRESS RELEASE – London, the 30th of April 2025
World’s Longest-Imprisoned Journalist Honored on the Eve of World Press Freedom Day
“JUSTICE WALL” IN LONDON CALLS ON THE WORLD TO SAY HIS NAME: DAWIT ISAAK
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, Human Rights Solidarity, a London- based organization committed to defending civil liberties and free expression, will host a public demonstration on Friday, 2 May, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM outside The Guardian headquarters at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. The event, open to media, NGOs, rights groups, and the public, will spotlight one of the gravest injustices in modern media history: the prolonged imprisonment of Mr. Dawit Isaak — a Swedish-Eritrean journalist, playwright, and father who has been held incommunicado in Eritrea for 24 years, without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer.
The initiative is co-sponsored by the Edelstam Foundation, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), Eritrea Focus, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI).
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE
The event is published on UNESCO’s list of celebrations around the worl
Press Release: Stockholm, the 8th of March 2025 –– The Swedish government’s actions for Djalali must be followed by demands for Isaak and Gui
The Edelstam Foundation, Reporters Without Borders and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights express strong support for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ latest statement on Ahmadreza Djalali, the Swedish citizen and Iranian academic who is at risk of execution and whose health condition has seriously deteriorated. We welcome the government’s resolute action to ensure Djalali’s human rights and demand his immediate release and access to medical care.
DAWIT ISAAK’S DAUGHTER, BETLEHEM ISAAK, ADRESSED THE U.N. OPENING FOR THE UN GENEVA SUMMIT 2025
Betlehem Isaak, Swedish-Eritrean writer, and daughter of journalist Dawit Isaak who has been detained in Eritrean prison without trial for 24 years, addressed the U.N. Opening for the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 17th, 2025.
PRESS RELEASE FEBRUARY 6, 2025: WASHINGTON – THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB DEMANDS THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF JOURNALIST DAWIT ISAAK
The National Press Club in Washington has issued a statement demanding the immediate release of journalist Mr. Dawit Isaak, a prisoner of conscience and the world’s longest arbitrarily detained journalist. Mr. Dawit Isaak, the 2024 Edelstam Prize Laureate, has been unlawfully imprisoned since 2001 without trial. He has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been allowed to speak with his lawyer. Read the full press release here
For press information in other languages please visit our International Press Room
World’s Longest Arbitrarily Detained Journalist Receives the Edelstam Prize
The Edelstam Prize 2024 was awarded to Mr. Dawit Isaak for his outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in standing up for freedom of expression, one’s beliefs, and in the defence of Human Rights. The prize was awarded during a ceremony at the House of Nobility in Stockholm, Sweden, on 19th November 2024. Read more…
FEBRUARY 3, 2025, INTERVIEW WITH CAROLINE EDELSTAM; PRESIDENT OF THE EDELSTAM FOUNDATION; BY HENOK TEKL, ERIPM (Eritrean Public Media)
VIDEOS FROM THE PRIZE AWARDS CEREMONY & SEMINAR, NOVEMBER 19-20, 2024
Edelstam Prize Award Ceremony
19 November 2024
Edelstam Prize Seminar
20 November 2024
Press Conference
11 November 2024
PHOTOS FROM THE PRIZE AWARD CEREMONY
SCREENING OF THE MOVIE “NORMA – A QUEST FOR JUSTICE”
On November 14, Norma – A Quest for Justice was screened in Geneva, sharing the story of Norma Andrade, a 2022 Edelstam Prize laureate. The documentary follows Norma’s 23-year struggle for justice after her daughter, Alejandra, was murdered in Ciudad Juárez—a city marked by ongoing violence against women.
Norma’s case, now before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, could become only the second feminicide case ruled on by the court. The event featured welcome remarks from representatives of the Kofi Annan Foundation, the Belgian Mission to the UN, and the film’s director, followed by a panel discussion with Norma Andrade, her lawyer, and experts from UN Women and the Geneva Graduate Institute.
The screening was organised in partnership with UN Women, FILMAR en América Latina, The Edelstam Foundation, and others.
After years of cruel medical neglect, isolation, & psychological torture in Iran, his body is giving out on him. He has been transferred to the hospital wing of Evin Prison — yet despite the gravity of his condition, he has been told he cannot see a cardiologist until Sunday.
Again & again, Ahmadreza is forced to wait: for medical care, for compassion, for his country — and for the international community — to act.
We urgently call on Ulf Kristersson, European Parliament, Kaja KallasKaja Kallas, & the int’l community to intervene, NOW, without delay, without excuses!
Ahmadreza needs immediate, life-saving care, & most importantly, he needs to get out of the hell he has been surviving in for the past 9 years!
Your continued silence will cost Djalali his life!
After years of cruel medical neglect, isolation, & psychological torture in Iran, his body is giving out on him. He has been transferred to the hospital wing of Evin Prison — yet despite the gravity of his condition, he has been told he cannot see a cardiologist until Sunday.
Again & again, Ahmadreza is forced to wait: for medical care, for compassion, for his country — and for the international community — to act.
We urgently call on Ulf Kristersson European Parliament, Kaja Kallas, & the int’l community to intervene, NOW, without delay, without excuses!
Ahmadreza needs immediate, life-saving care, & most importantly, he needs to get out of the hell he has been surviving in for the past 9 years!
Your continued silence will cost Djalali his life!
After years of cruel medical neglect, isolation, & psychological torture in Iran, his body is giving out on him. He has been transferred to the hospital wing of Evin Prison — yet despite the gravity of his condition, he has been told he cannot see a cardiologist until Sunday.
Again & again, Ahmadreza is forced to wait: for medical care, for compassion, for his country — and for the international community — to act.
We urgently call on Ulf Kristersson, European Parliament, Kaja Kallas, & the int’l community to intervene, NOW, without delay, without excuses!
Ahmadreza needs immediate, life-saving care, & most importantly, he needs to get out of the hell he has been surviving in for the past 9 years!
Your continued silence will cost Djalali his life!
Ahmadreza Djalali är en svensk-iransk läkare och forskare som tillfångatogs under en föreläsningsresa till Iran för nio år sen. Det har inte lagts fram några bevis som tyder på att han har begått något brott – trots det har han dömts till döden.
Det är med stor oro Amnesty tar emot nyheterna om att Ahmadreza nu har drabbats av en hjärtinfarkt i Evinfängelset i Teheran. Enligt hans hustru Vida Mehrannia fick han vänta flera timmar innan han fick komma till fängelsekliniken på Evin. Där konstaterades att han drabbats av en hjärtinfarkt – något han själv redan hade misstänkt utifrån sina symptom.
Vi uppmanar iranska myndigheter att omgående ge Ahmadreza Djalali tillgång till all den vård han behöver, inklusive sjukhusvård och specialistvård som inte finns tillgänglig på fängelset. Han behöver också få stanna på sjukhuset så länge hans läkare anser att det behövs utan att tvingas tillbaka till fängelset i förtid.
Amnesty har länge krävt att Iran ska ge Ahmadreza tillgång till sjukhusvård för de allvarliga hälsoproblem han utvecklat i fängelset. Nyheterna om hjärtinfarkten gör detta krav ännu mer AKUT!
Dela inlägget – tillsammans måste vi sätta press på de iranska myndigheterna!
