Latest Status of Ahmad Reza Jalali’s Case, Iranian Imprisoned Physician, in Conversation with His Wife

The wife of Ahmad Reza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish imprisoned physician, says that despite a third request by his lawyer for retrial, there has been no change in Mr. Jalali’s case.

Vida Mehrannia, the wife of Ahmad Reza Jalali, the imprisoned physician, told Voice of America on Wednesday, February 6, that Ahmad Reza Jalali is in poor physical condition and has lost 30 kilograms of body weight due to multiple illnesses such as anemia and other conditions.

She told Voice of America that as Mr. Jalali’s physical condition deteriorated, on November 17, prison authorities transferred him at night to Taleghani Hospital in Tehran, and the day after surgery, despite needing care, he was transferred to Ward 4 of Evin Prison, which caused his stitches to open and Mr. Jalali required another operation.

According to Vida Mehrannia, based on blood tests taken from Ahmad Reza Jalali and examination by an internal medicine specialist at the prison clinic, the bone marrow has been severely damaged and is suspected of having blood cancer.

She said that on Sunday, November 4, Ahmad Reza Jalali was supposed to be transferred to the cancer treatment department of one of Tehran’s hospitals for treatment, but prison authorities refused to send him to the hospital.

From Sweden to Evin

Mr. Jalali, who had temporary residency in Sweden and collaborated with several European universities, was arrested and imprisoned about two years ago when he traveled to Iran at the invitation of Tehran University. In a video broadcast last month by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, he confessed to providing information about two assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists to Israel’s Mossad spy agency. This came after Iran had previously executed another person on charges of assassinating these scientists.

Iran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Mr. Jalali to death on charges of transferring classified information to Mossad at the height of Iran’s nuclear program activities, and the Supreme Court rejected a request for review of the sentence in less than an hour. However, his lawyer has requested a retrial of the case.

The death sentence of Mr. Jalali and the broadcast of his confessions led to criticism from human rights organizations and UN human rights experts.

Vida Mehrannia said: “Ahmad Reza Jalali is innocent and for three years my children and I have had no visits with him. We ask Iranian authorities to reexamine his case, and we hope he will be freed and returned to his family.”

Ms. Mehrannia told Voice of America that Sweden’s Foreign Ministry has been following Mr. Jalali’s case during this period, and the Swedish ambassador to Iran has requested several times to meet with him, which has not been approved.

She said the governments of Italy and Belgium have also requested Iran’s government to reexamine Ahmad Reza Jalali’s case, but their requests have not been answered to this day.

Additionally, this year 124 winners of the Nobel Peace Prize sent a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei requesting the freedom of Ahmad Reza Jalali from Iran’s leader.

Source: Voice of America