Belgium – Belga News Agency, April 24, 2025
A group of MEPs has urged Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, to meet the family of Ahmadreza Djalali – a Swedish-Iranian emergency doctor and visiting professor at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel who has spent nine years in prison in Iran.
In a letter, the MEPs, including Belgians Hilde Vautmans, Bruno Tobback, Kathleen Van Brempt and Sophie Wilmès, stressed that Djalali “must not become a forgotten hostage” and called for increased EU action to secure his release.
They called on the EU to use its full diplomatic weight to press Iran for Djalali’s release. They highlighted his deteriorating health, the continued risk of execution and the psychological burden on his family.
The letter also urged Kallas to meet publicly with Djalali’s family to signal that the EU stands firmly with its citizens, and to coordinate efforts with US counterparts to increase pressure on Tehran.
