Scientist tells Swedish PM prisoner swap with Iran has left him facing execution

Ahmadreza Djalali says he has been left to his fate after recent deal between Sweden and Iran

Ahmadreza Djalali and his family. Photo: Amnesty International

A scientist facing execution in Iran has accused the Swedish Prime Minister of abandoning him in a recent prisoner swap between the two countries.

In voice messages from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish–Iranian who has embarked on a hunger strike, made a plea to Ulf Kristersson to work for his release, after Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri was freed in return for the release of Swedish citizen and EU diplomat Johan Floderus and dual citizen Saeed Azizi.

Mr Djalali was arrested on a trip to Iran in 2016 and sentenced to death after he was convicted of sending confidential details to Israeli intelligence service Mossad, but told his family this was after he had refused to co-operate with Iran’s intelligence services.

In the voice messages, which his wife Vida Mehrannia shared with The National, Mr Djalali accused Mr Kristersson of abandoning him to his fate.

“Mr Prime Minister, you decided to leave me behind under huge risk of being executed in Evin. You didn’t act on altering my condition and cancelling this death sentence before the swap [was] done.”

Mr Djalali said while he was “very happy” at the release of the Swedish citizen by the Iranians, he said “you left me here helpless” and that he has now spent “3,000 days of my life” in prison.

“When you decided to leave me behind, you were not able to imagine how badly my wife and children have suffered over the past few years,” he said.

“My wife and my family are on the same Earth but in two different worlds. They are heart-broken, fearful and full of sadness.

“Mr Prime Minister, my son was four when I was detained and now he’s 12 and a half. He’s spent two thirds of his life without a father.”

Ms Mehrannia told The National she was "surprised and shocked when I saw in the media there had been a prisoner swap but there was no mention of Ahmadreza.

“For eight years we have been working to release him and his case was on the table between Iran and Sweden but they’ve left him behind now," she said.

"That’s disgusting and ridiculous for me. He has again got a death sentence, this time by the Swedish government."

Ms Mehrannia said her husband “has been under a psychological torture for eight years”.

“I’m really worried because it’s possible that any day they could carry out the sentence,” she said.

“There have been a lot of executions in Iran and everyone knows about the horrors of the country.”

She also disclosed that he had begun a hunger strike.

"The only way anyone can hear his voice in the world is to just start a hunger strike" she said.

Iran has in recent years been accused of detaining dual and foreign citizens as hostages to use as political bargaining chips to extract concessions.

Last year, five US citizens held by Iran were freed in return for Washington issuing a waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar.

An expert on emergency medicine who lived in Stockholm, Mr Djalali worked at the Karolinska Medical Institute and is well known in his field.

The Iranian authorities announced they would execute him in 2022 but that was halted after his lawyers appealed.

Iran had previously threatened to execute Mr Djalali in 2020, as a Belgian court was considering verdicts in the case of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian spymaster, who was accused of plotting to blow up a dissidents’ rally in France. The threat of immediate execution was lifted, even after Assadi was convicted and jailed for 20 years.

Last year, when Mr Nouri was convicted for his role in the 1988 prison massacres in Iran, the Iranian media released a propaganda video with Mr Djalali’s forced “confessions”. He was told again in December 2023 that he would be executed.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry has been approached for comment.

After the prisoners’ release, Mr Kristersson said he understood the swap had been "received with mixed feelings" but he stood by the "difficult" decision.

"These are two people who have experienced hell on Earth," he said.

"I understand how this is received with mixed feelings, not least among Swedes who stem from Iran. This was not an easy deliberation the government has had to make, but sometimes you have to do difficult things and do what is right."