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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi
Head of the Judiciary
c/o H.E. Mr. Takht-Ravanchi
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: [email protected]
Fax: +1 (212) 867-7086
Your Excellencies,
We write on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) to express our grave concern regarding the whereabouts of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali. He has had no contact with his family since June 23, when Evin Prison came under an unlawful and deadly attack by Israel, and all male prisoners, including Dr. Djalali, were transferred to Ward 2 of Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary. Just hours later, he was moved to an undisclosed location.
MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, MESA publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has over 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 elsewhere.
Dr. Djalali is an Iranian-Swedish scholar of emergency and disaster medicine and faculty member in the European Masters’ Program in Disaster Medicine convened by the Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He was arrested in April 2016 while visiting Iran at the invitation of the University of Tehran and Shiraz University to participate in a series of academic activities and to visit his family. Following a forced confession, he was sentenced to death in October 2017 on charges of espionage and has had to endure the torment of imminent execution since 2020.
Such accusations stand in stark contrast to the assessment of his colleagues, both inside and outside Iran, who regard Dr. Djalali as an ethical and dedicated professional, a committed scholar, and a compassionate researcher throughout his years of work. Beyond his loyalty to academic and professional principles, he is known for his unconditional love for his homeland, Iran, and his scientific collaboration has always aimed to alleviate the suffering of its people during crises and natural disasters.
While all other male prisoners were returned to Evin Prison on August 8, 46 days after the Israeli attack, Dr. Djalali was not among them. Both the security authorities and Greater Tehran Penitentiary officials have refused to provide any information regarding his location or fate. Since the onset of Israel’s attacks, fears have intensified that Dr. Djalali, along with other prisoners facing death sentences, may be at imminent risk of execution. This alarming situation comes after more than nine years and five months of wrongful detention, where his health and wellbeing have been seriously harmed.
We have written numerous letters to you regarding Dr. Djalali, including the letters dated 30 June 2025 and 6 March 2025, a joint letter with our European partners on 10 September 2024, as well as letters dated 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 about his unlawful arrest, his death sentence based on forced confessions, the Supreme Court’s upholding of that sentence without permitting submissions from his defense team and, most recently, his unknown location.
We now urgently call for the immediate disclosure of Dr. Djalali’s whereabouts, the reversal of his death sentence, a full reconsideration of the charges against him, and his prompt release so that he may return safely to his family in Sweden. Indeed, the prolonged and severe suffering he has faced, along with the unlawful conditions that have led to his physical and psychological decline, constitute compelling humanitarian grounds for his immediate release. We sincerely hope that Your Excellencies will facilitate the release of this academic, enabling him to resume his vital work in disaster medicine, work that holds significant value not only for the people of Iran, but for the rest of the world community.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your response.
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
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)