Urgent Appeal for the Life of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali – Letter from His Wife to the Swedish Prime Minister

Urgent Appeal for the Life of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali – Letter from His Wife to the Swedish Prime Minister

On June 22, 2025, Vida Mehrannia, the wife of Swedish citizen and academic Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, sent a heartfelt letter to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, urging Sweden and its international partners to take immediate action to secure her husband’s release from Iran. Dr. Djalali has been arbitrarily detained by the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2016 and has been held under a standing death sentence since 2017, following a sham trial and torture.

This plea comes at a moment of heightened danger. The escalation of conflict in the region, and especially Iran’s intensified crackdown on individuals accused of espionage for Israel, has significantly increased the risk to Dr. Djalali’s life. In just the past week:

 

    • On June 16, the Iranian regime executed Ismail Fekri, accused of spying for Mossad.
    • On June 20, Ali Younesi, a student previously detained on vague security charges, was taken from Evin Prison. His current whereabouts are unknown.
    • On June 22, Massid Mossayebi was executed on similar espionage charges.
    • Mohamed Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh is currently at imminent risk of execution on unsubstantiated charges of “illegal cooperation” with Israel.

 

In this context, Dr. Djalali’s situation is growing ever more perilous. He is being held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, where prisoners are under direct threat due to the conflict and recent bombings. Many, including EU and US nationals, remain entirely dependent on the prison authorities for food, water, and critical medication.

Today, June 23rd, Dr. Djalali was removed from his cell with other prisoners, instructed to gather all his belongings. His current location is unknown, and he has been held incommunicado since. While this raises deep fears, it also offers a faint glimmer of hope — perhaps his case is under review, or diplomatic pressure is beginning to register, or the most valuable prisoners are being protected.

 

We stand with Vida Mehrannia and her call for urgent, coordinated action. At the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague (June 24–25), Sweden and its allies must make the safety and release of all political prisoners and hostages in Iran a top priority. The European Parliament has already spoken clearly. Now, it is time for governments to act decisively.

Dr. Djalali’s detention has already been condemned by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and numerous human rights organizations. His ongoing imprisonment is not just a legal outrage – it is a human tragedy and a test of the international community’s moral resolve.

We urge everyone to read the letter below and to share it widely. Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali’s life hangs in the balance. Silence is complicity.

Read the full letter from Vida Mehrannia to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson below >>

 

 

 

His Excellency
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson 103 33 Stockholm
Sweden
June 22, 2025

Your Excellency,

My name is Vida Mehrannia – I am the wife of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish citizen who has been imprisoned by the Islamic Republic of Iran on false charges since 2016. I am writing to you to express my deep concern about my husband’s safety during the current tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel. Now that the United States has entered the conflict, his situation has become even more critical.

I appeal to you to urge all NATO partners and EU member countries at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague (June 24-25, 2025) to do everything in their power to ensure that all sides to the conflict extend maximum protection to political prisoners held by the Islamic Republic, including EU and US hostages, and to demand their immediate release.

Just this past week, the European Parliament submitted a strongly worded motion for a resolution, sharply condemning Ahmadreza’s illegal arrest and detention. It also calls upon Sweden and EU member states to intensify joint efforts to call upon the Islamic Republic “to immediately release, safely repatriate and drop all charges against EU nationals.” (MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION The case of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali’s illegal arrest and detention in Iran | B10- 0285/2025 | European Parliament)

Thousands of prisoners, including my husband, French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, as well as Shahab Dalali, a US resident from the Commonwealth of Virginia, are locked in Tehran’s Evin Prison, unable to take shelter from the bombings, dependent on prison guards for food, water and required medications.

Over the past two years, my husband’s health has been in serious decline because of the harsh conditions and the torture he has endured. Earlier this year, Ahmadreza suffered a heart attack for which he received only basic treatment. His life is at immediate risk and he is in urgent need of proper medical care. The severe physical and psychological strain have become unbearable. For the past eight years, my husband has lived under the daily threat of execution since he was sentenced to death in 2017. He was falsely charged with espionage on behalf of Israel and wrongfully convicted in a sham trial, denied the right to due process. In 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNGWAD) recognized Ahmadreza as arbitrarily detained.

On June 6, 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Dr. Alice Jill Edwards) and other experts (Special Procedures)

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/detention-taking-its-toll-hostage- ahmadreza-djalali-un-experts-call-iran, responding nd Ahmadreza’s illegal detention which they to an emergency filing with the UNGWAD, found to be in violation of international law. Dr. Edwards has also forwarded separate letters to the Islamic Republic and the Swedish government concerning my husband’s case.

Iranian authorities are severely punishing any individuals suspected of ties to Israel or suspicions of espionage for a foreign power.

 

    • On June 16, the Islamic Republic executed Ismail Fekri as an alleged Mossad agent.
    • On June 20, Ali Younesi was removed from Evin Prison for questioning. He has not been seen since.

 

Since 2023, executions in the Islamic Republic have risen dramatically, with close to 1,000 individuals killed in 2024 and hundreds of executions already carried out this year. The Swedish government, together with its international partners, and all responsible stakeholders, must deliver an unambiguous message to the Islamic Republic: the continued wrongful detention of my husband and other hostages is unacceptable. Securing their release is not just a diplomatic concern – it’s a moral imperative and a test of our collective resolve to counter the scourge of international hostage diplomacy.

Yours sincerely,

Vida Mehrannia,

Stockholm, Sweden

 

Vida Mehrannia to Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson June 22, 2025[1]Download