Tehran Sentences Swedish Lecturer to Death for ‘Espionage’

A photo taken on February 13, 2017 shows a flyer during a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels for Ahmadreza Djalali. (Getty Images)
A photo taken on February 13, 2017 shows a flyer during a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels for Ahmadreza Djalali. (Getty Images)
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Tehran Sentences Swedish Lecturer to Death for ‘Espionage’

A photo taken on February 13, 2017 shows a flyer during a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels for Ahmadreza Djalali. (Getty Images)
A photo taken on February 13, 2017 shows a flyer during a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels for Ahmadreza Djalali. (Getty Images)

Relatives of Iranian academic and university lecturer Ahmadreza Djalali said he was unfairly sentenced to death for alleged espionage a year after his arrest in Tehran.

Djalali’s wife Vida Mehrannia, who lives in Sweden with their two children, told Amnesty International that his physical and mental health have sharply deteriorated since he was detained.

She added: “We are calling for his release because he has not committed any crime.”

Djalali holds dual Iranian-Swedish nationalities.

A Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed that she had received information from reliable sources confirming Djalali’s death sentence, but at the same time said she was gathering information on the case.

Iranian judicial authorities have not commented on reports circulated by Iranian websites about the death verdict.

Djalali was a lecturer at the Université Libre de Bruxelles when he was arrested by Iranian authorities on the sidelines a scientific conference he was attending in Iran.

Djalali had staged a hunger strike several times during the time of his detention, protesting the charges against him.

A Belgian source affiliated with the case noted that Djalali had been recently allowed by authorities two minutes to talk to his wife twice a week, but was unable to communicate with his lawyer.

Another lawyer was appointed and dismissed. The Belgian associate said that the hunger strike has serious implications for the health of the Iranian detainee.

Academics in Belgium and sympathizers with Djalali have written to European countries, which recently reached trade agreements with Iran, on how important it is to place pressure on the Iranian regime to respect international laws. They also demanded urgent medical assistance for the Iranian lecturer.

Zeynab Taheri, one of Djalali’s lawyers, told Amnesty International that he was sentenced to death and given a 200,000-euro fine.

“Ahmadreza Djalali was sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial that once again exposes not only the Iranian authorities’ steadfast commitment to use of the death penalty but their utter contempt for the rule of law,” Amnesty International reported Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa as saying.



27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
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27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)

Iran said Tuesday 27 inmates were still at large after an Israeli airstrike last month targeted Evin prison in the north of the capital, Tehran, local media reported.

The airstrikes were part of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of Iran that killed about 1,100 people. while 28 were left dead in Israel in Iranian retaliatory strikes, The Associated Press said.

Judiciary’s news website, Mizanonline, quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying 75 prisoners had escaped following the strike, of which 48 were either recaptured or voluntarily returned. He said authorities will detain the others if they don't hand themselves over.

Jahangir said the escapees were prisoners doing time for minor offenses.

Iranian officials said the Israeli strike killed 71 people, but local media reported earlier in July that 80 were left dead at the time, including prison staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members. Authorities also said five inmates died.

It’s unclear why Israel targeted the prison. The Israeli Defense Ministry had said that 50 aircraft dropped 100 munitions on military targets “based on high-quality and accurate intelligence from the Intelligence Branch.”

The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.