Dozens of Nobel Laureates Call for the Release of Ahmadreza Jalali

Dozens of Nobel laureates in various fields have called for the release of Ahmadreza Jalali in a letter to Iran's representative at the United Nations. According to reports, Mr. Jalali, a researcher residing in Sweden, has been sentenced to death in Iran. The letter sent to Gholamali Khoshroo, the senior representative of the Islamic Republic at the UN, was written by Richard Roberts, a British biologist and biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1993. 74 Nobel laureates from various fields, including chemistry, medicine, economics, and peace, have also signed it. In this letter, which has reached Radio Farda, the signatories stated that as a group deeply committed to the duty of serving humanity, as requested by Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prize, they cannot 'remain silent' when the life of another committed researcher is at risk. Richard Roberts reminded in his letter to the Iranian representation at the United Nations that Dr. Ahmadreza Jalali and his family reside in Sweden and that he was personally engaged in improving emergency hospital assistance in cases such as terrorist attacks, radioactive, chemical, and biological incidents. According to the signatories, the status and manner of the detention of this Iranian researcher are a source of widespread concern, and a document from Dr. Jalali himself has raised serious doubts that his 'illegal and unjust conviction' occurred due to his refusal to cooperate with Iranian security forces. Roberts and other Nobel laureates have called for 'Mr. Jalali's freedom and his return to his family, and the continuation of his research and academic activities aimed at serving humanity.' Among the signatories of this letter are individuals such as Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, head of the 'Women Journalists Free from Bondage' group, Lima Gabouy, a human rights activist, Nobel Peace laureates; Michael Bishop, John Gordon, Michael Young, Nobel laureates in medicine; Sheldon Glashow, John Hall, Takaki Kajita, Klaus von Klitzing, Nobel laureates in physics from the USA and Germany to Japan; and Oliver Hart and Finn Kydland, Nobel laureates in economics. Ahmadreza Jalali has been active at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden for the past eight years. He traveled to Tehran early last year at the invitation of the Iranian government to attend a conference and was arrested at that time. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, stated early in November without mentioning Mr. Jalali's name that an individual residing in Sweden has been sentenced to death for transferring 'sensitive information to Mossad.' The Tehran prosecutor stated that this Iranian researcher 'provided sensitive information to the Israeli intelligence service in exchange for a salary and residency in Sweden.' Amnesty International has stated that Ahmadreza Jalali was 'pressured' to sign documents alleging espionage for a 'hostile government.' Following his refusal to sign these documents, he was threatened with a 'moharebeh' sentence. Amnesty International also stated that no evidence has ever been presented to show that Mr. Jalali was engaged in anything other than academic work. The Swedish government condemned the death sentence for Ahmadreza Jalali. In this regard, meetings with Ahmadreza Jalali, the imprisoned researcher in Iran, have revealed that he has suffered from 'multiple physical problems.' Amnesty International has called for the immediate cancellation of Ahmadreza Jalali's death sentence. Iran announced the issuance of a death sentence for a 'Mossad collaborator' involved in the assassination of 'nuclear scientists.' The Revolutionary Guards have detained at least 30 dual-national Iranian citizens over the past two years.