Sweden – Dagens Medicin, September 27, 2024
In an open letter, the Karolinska Institute (KI) calls on the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), to intensify efforts to bring home the researcher on death row Ahmadreza Djalali. The Swedish-Iranian has been imprisoned in Iran for over eight years.
The letter, signed by Karolinska Institute’s President Annika Östman Wernerson and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Martin Bergö, was sent to the government and Maria Malmer Stenergard on Thursday.
The letter states that Ahmadreza Djalali’s health has deteriorated, that his communication possibilities are severely limited and that “an execution of the death sentence may be imminent”. He and his family are also under severe pressure, they point out.
They go on to say that they “are aware that the Swedish government has acted in various ways” but that “there was great disappointment” when Ahmadreza Djalali was not included in the prisoner swap with Iran in June this year, which saw the release of Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi.
“We now turn to you, as the new Swedish Foreign Minister, with an appeal that you and your colleagues in the government continue and intensify the efforts to get our highly valued colleague free,” they write.
