Ahmadreza Jalali Ends Hunger Strike Due to Deteriorating Health

Vida Mehran-Nia, the wife of Ahmadreza Jalali, a dual Iranian-Swedish physician and researcher who has been imprisoned in Iran for eight years and sentenced to death, confirmed the end of her husband's hunger strike in an interview with Radio Farda. On Friday, July 15, she stated that her husband responded positively to requests to end his hunger strike, citing 'severe stomach issues following previous strikes,' 'severe physical weakness,' and 'low heart rate and blood pressure' as reasons for his decision. On July 9, she had written on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter): 'Ahmadreza's physical condition is extremely weak, and as he entered the fourth day of his hunger strike, his life is in serious danger.' In a warning on the fourth day of his hunger strike, she stated, 'His life is at risk.' She shared a photo showing Ahmadreza Jalali's extreme thinness in prison, explaining that the image was taken at the start of his hunger strike. Recently, the Swedish government managed to secure the release of two Swedish citizens imprisoned in Iran in exchange for the release of Hamid Noury, a former deputy prosecutor of Gohardasht prison, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Sweden for his involvement in the execution of thousands of political prisoners in the 1980s in Iran. While Amnesty International expressed satisfaction with the release of Johan Flodros and Saeed Azizi, the Swedish citizens who eventually returned to their country, it continues to express concern over the potential execution of Ahmadreza Jalali, the Iranian-Swedish citizen imprisoned in Iran. Amnesty International has urged the Swedish government to take immediate action to secure his release and return home, and to investigate all officials suspected of human rights violations against Ahmadreza Jalali, including his torture. Ahmadreza Jalali, a dual Iranian-Swedish physician and researcher, was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in May 2016 while traveling to Iran to attend a scientific conference. He was subsequently sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court on charges of espionage for Israel, which he has denied from the beginning. Following Noury's release, an audio file of Ahmadreza Jalali was released in which he protests to the Prime Minister of Sweden. In this phone conversation with his wife, he addressed Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, saying, 'You decided to leave me despite the risk of execution.'