Iran is pressuring Sweden by threatening to execute Dual-National
The death sentence for a Swedish-Iranian researcher imprisoned in Iran will be carried out in the next two weeks, the ISNA news agency in Tehran reported on Wednesday.
The text published by ISNA is in quotation marks, which means that someone else has entered the wording. It is said that Djalali was found guilty of “espionage for the Zionist regime” and his death sentence has now been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Ahmadreza Djalali (Jalali) was arrested when he accepted an invitation from a university to visit Iran in 2016. Authorities accused the researcher of espionage – an accusation they often use against foreigners and dual citizens they want as a bargaining chip. Djalali was later sentenced to death as Iran sought to increase pressure on European countries to free individuals arrested for terrorist activities or human rights abuses.
The ISNA text also refers to one of these persons, Hamid Nouri, who was on trial in Swedenuntil this week and said his arrest was intended to put pressure on Iran to release Djalali.
Sweden arrested Nouri, now 61, on his arrival in Sweden at Stockholm Airport in 2019 and put him on trial in August 2021 for mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the Gohardasht prison in Iran in July and August 1988.
Hamid Nouri, risks life imprisonment in Sweden for his role in the killing of political prisoners
Most of the victims were linked to the opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), but there were also some with links to left-wing and secular groups.
Nouri is the first person ever to be brought to justice for the executions carried out on the basis of a fatwa by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Swedish prosecutors who have produced dozens of witnesses against Nouri have demanded life imprisonment for him. The last session of his trial ended this week and a verdict will be announced in July. The news of Djalali’s impending execution coincides with the conclusion of Nouri’s trial.
Iran has a 43-year history of taking foreigners hostage to put pressure on European countries and the United States, either for economic reasons or to secure the release of individuals arrested in the West for illegal activities for the benefit of the Islamic Republic. On many occasions, prisoner changes have taken place. Djalali’s case seems to be one of those cases where Tehran wants to use him to free Nouri or get a reduced sentence for him in exchange for not executing Djalali.
The ISNA text also claims without any evidence that Nouri was arrested in Sweden on behalf of Israel to secure the release of “its spy”, Djalali.
The Swedish Iranian prisoner has insisted that he is innocent and was forced to admit espionage under torture. His health has deteriorated over long months of solitary confinement, torture and assault by prison guards.