Your Excellency:
I am writing to you as the Chair of the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) in the United States to express concern about our scientific colleague Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a medical doctor, university lecturer, and researcher in disaster medicine who has been detained in Evin Prison under difficult conditions since April 2016 and is now standing trial. The Committee on Human Rights is joined in this request by ?? other distinguished members of the National Academies, who asked that their names be added to this letter. As you can see from the number of signatories, Dr. Djalali’s situation is of great concern to many Academy members.
Dr. Djalali is an Iranian national and resident of Sweden, who holds a doctorate degree in medicine from Tabriz University and a Ph.D. in disaster medicine from Karolinska Institute in Sweden and has taught in universities in Belgium, Italy, and Sweden. On April 25, 2016—while visiting Iran, at the invitation of the University of Tehran and Shiraz University, to participate in disaster medicine workshops—he was detained by security forces of the Ministry of Intelligence and accused of national security-related crimes, including collaborating with a hostile government. We understand that Dr. Djalali was subjected to insults and threats against his children to force him to sign various statements while held in solitary confinement during the first three months of his detention. Since then he has been intermittently held in solitary confinement and was denied access to legal counsel of his choosing for more than a year. In December 2016, we understand Dr. Djalali was pressured by interrogators to sign a statement saying he was “spying” for “a hostile government.” Although officials reportedly threatened to charge him with “moharebeh” (enmity against God) if he failed to cooperate, we understand he refused to sign the “confession.” In protest at his harsh treatment, Dr. Djalali reportedly went on two hunger strikes.
Our concern is heightened by reliable reports that Dr. Djalali’s health has deteriorated. We understand that he suffers from excessively low body weight, leg pain that makes it difficult for him to walk, severe headaches, and pain in his kidneys for which he reportedly is not receiving adequate medical care.
Dr. Djalali’s trial began on August 22, 2017, before Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, and the next session is scheduled for September 24. Given that no credible evidence has been disclosed to support the charges against him and that he has worked together with individuals from a host of different countries, including Iran, on best practices for delivering medical care in catastrophic situations, it is feared that his arrest and prosecution stem from the international collaborative nature of his medical work, in violation of his rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. These rights are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a State party. Thus we respectfully urge you to use your good offices to ensure that Dr. Djalali is promptly and unconditionally released from prison and that the charges against him are dropped. In the interim, we ask that his treatment be brought into accordance with the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), including that he be provided with all needed medical treatment.
We thank you for your attention, Your Excellency, to this important matter.
Yours Sincerely,
Martin Chalfie, Ph.D.
(2008 Nobel Laureate, Chemistry)