Your Excellency,
My name is Vida Mehrannia – I am the wife of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish citizen who has been imprisoned by the Islamic Republic of Iran on false charges since 2016. I am writing to you to express my deep concern about my husband’s safety during the current tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel. Now that the United States has entered the conflict, his situation has become even more critical.
I appeal to you to urge all NATO partners and EU member countries at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague (June 24-25, 2025) to do everything in their power to ensure that all sides to the conflict extend maximum protection to political prisoners held by the Islamic Republic, including EU and US hostages, and to demand their immediate release.
Just this past week, the European Parliament submitted a strongly worded motion for a resolution, sharply condemning Ahmadreza’s illegal arrest and detention. It also calls upon Sweden and EU member states to intensify joint efforts to call upon the Islamic Republic “to immediately release, safely repatriate and drop all charges against EU nationals.” (MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION The case of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali’s illegal arrest and detention in Iran | B10-0285/2025 | European Parliament: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-10-2025-0285_EN.html) Thousands of prisoners, including my husband, French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, as well as Shahab Dalili, a US resident from the Commonwealth of Virginia, are locked in Tehran’s Evin Prison, unable to take shelter from the bombings, dependent on prison guards for food, water and required medications.
Over the past two years, my husband’s health has been in serious decline because of the harsh conditions and the torture he has endured. Earlier this year, Ahmadreza suffered a heart attack for which he received only basic treatment. His life is at immediate risk and he is in urgent need of proper medical care. The severe physical and psychological strain have become unbearable.
For the past eight years, my husband has lived under the daily threat of execution since he was sentenced to death in 2017. He was falsely charged with espionage on behalf of Israel and wrongfully convicted in a sham trial, denied the right to due process. In 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNGWAD) recognized Ahmadreza as arbitrarily detained. On June 6, 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Dr. Alice Jill Edwards) and other experts (Special Procedures) (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/detention-taking-its-toll-hostage-ahmadreza-djalali-un-experts-call-iran), responding to an emergency filing with the UNGWAD, called for the Islamic Republic to immediately end Ahmadreza’s illegal detention which they found to be in violation of international law. Dr. Edwards has also forwarded separate letters to the Islamic Republic and the Swedish government concerning my husband’s case.
Iranian authorities are severely punishing any individuals suspected of ties to Israel or suspicions of espionage for a foreign power.
• On June 16, the Islamic Republic executed Ismail Fekri as an alleged Mossad agent.
• On June 20, Ali Younesi was removed from Evin Prison for questioning. He has not been seen since.
Since 2023, executions in the Islamic Republic have risen dramatically, with close to 1,000 individuals killed in 2024 and hundreds of executions already carried out this year.
The Swedish government, together with its international partners, and all responsible stakeholders, must deliver an unambiguous message to the Islamic Republic: the continued wrongful detention of my husband and other hostages is unacceptable. Securing their release is not just a diplomatic concern – it’s a moral imperative and a test of our collective resolve to counter the scourge of international hostage diplomacy.
