Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Mr. Ali Bahreini
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: iran@un.int
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Mr. Ali Bahreini
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: iran@un.int
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Mr. Ali Bahreini
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: iran@un.int
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: iran@un.int
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, Head of the Judiciary
c/o H.E. Mr. Ali Bahreini
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: iran@un.int
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Your Excellencies,
The Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) is deeply alarmed by the imminent threat of execution facing Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish scholar who was being held on death row in Iran. On 23 June 2025, Dr. Djalali was transferred to an undisclosed location, raising serious fears that his execution may be imminent.
MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the prestigious International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 2,800 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and outside of North America.
Ahmadreza Djalali has been imprisoned since April 2016, following a forced confession. He was sentenced to death in October 2017 on baseless charges of espionage and has had to endure the torment of imminent execution since 2020. His case represents a grave violation of academic freedom and human rights.
We have written numerous letters to you regarding Dr. Djalali (see a joint letter with our European partners on 9 October 2024, as well as letters dated 6 March 2025, 12 May 2022, 14 December 2020, 5 August 2019, 4 April 2019, 13 December 2018, 8 February 2018, 21 December 2017, 25 October 2017, 6 February 2017) expressing our deep concern, first about his unlawful arrest, then regarding the denial to him of medical attention for serious illnesses, and most recently regarding his death sentence based on forced confessions, and the Supreme Court’s upholding of that sentence without allowing submissions from his defense team.
We now call with the greatest urgency to reverse Dr. Djalali’s capital sentence, reconsider the charges against him, and release him from detention so that he can return to his family in Sweden.
Sincerely,
Aslı Ü. Bâli
MESA President
Professor, Yale Law School
Laurie A. Brand
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
Cc:
The Honorable Esmaeil Khatib, Minister of Intelligence
The Honorable Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Honorable Ali Bahreini, Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations, Geneva
The Honorable Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Honorable Mai Sato, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Honorable Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
The Honorable Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Physical and Mental Health
The Honorable Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Mounir Satouri, Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights
David McAllister, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Adam Romanowski, Member of Cabinet of Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Marta Temido, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights
Łukasz Kohut, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights
Michael O'Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Kati Piri, Member of the Dutch Parliament (House of Representatives)
Documents & Links
- Iran_20250630
pdf 1 MB