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Swedish-Iranian Scientist May Face Imminent Execution, Say Rights Groups

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution. (Amnesty International)
Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution. (Amnesty International)
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Swedish-Iranian Scientist May Face Imminent Execution, Say Rights Groups

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution. (Amnesty International)
Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution. (Amnesty International)

Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, may face imminent execution, rights groups said on Tuesday.

“On 1 December, a judge said Ahmadreza was to be transferred to Rajai Shahr prison TODAY to proceed with his imminent execution,” Amnesty International said on Twitter.

“His lawyer was informed that Ahmadreza would be transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison ... today (Tuesday, Dec. 1),” Iran Human Rights said in a statement, quoting his wife Vida Mehrannia.

There was no official Iranian reaction to the reports.

Sweden’s foreign minister said last week she had spoken to her Iranian counterpart after reports Iran may soon carry out Djalali’s death sentence.

Djalali, a medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute in the Swedish capital Stockholm, was arrested in Iran in 2016 and later convicted of espionage, having been accused of providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists. Iran’s Supreme Court in 2017 upheld the death sentence.

Rights activists have accused Iran of arresting a number of dual nationals to try to win concessions from other countries. Tehran has regularly dismissed the accusation.

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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.