Imprisoned Researcher in Iran Suffers from 'Multiple Physical Problems'

Vida Mehran-Nia, the wife of Ahmadreza Jalali, a researcher and university professor imprisoned in Iran, states that her husband is struggling with uncertainty and multiple physical and health issues on the first anniversary of his detention. On Tuesday, April 24, she told Radio Farda that despite a year of detention and interrogation of her husband, Judge Salavati refuses to hold a court session and has not accepted any of the lawyers proposed by Mr. Jalali. According to Mr. Jalali's wife, months of keeping this university professor from Italy, Belgium, and Sweden in solitary confinement at Evin Prison and multiple hunger strikes have caused various physical problems for him. Ms. Mehran-Nia says that one of her husband's toes no longer moves and gastrointestinal diseases also trouble him. Ahmadreza Jalali, a physician and researcher of Iranian origin residing in Sweden, was arrested on April 24, 2016, in Tehran and has been in Evin Prison since then. Mr. Jalali's wife previously told Radio Farda that Judge Abolqasem Salavati, head of Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, has threatened her husband with execution on charges such as 'collaboration with enemy countries.' Ahmadreza Jalali was teaching crisis management and collaborating with universities in Italy, Sweden, and Belgium. His arrest, charges, and the threat of execution have prompted widespread reactions from European institutions and academic circles. The prestigious scientific journal 'Nature' previously reported on the protests of scientific researchers worldwide against the detention and potential execution of Ahmadreza Jalali. According to Nature, Mr. Jalali, 45, is a well-known researcher in the field of improving hospital conditions and performance in the face of terrorism and radiological, biological, and chemical threats. 'Science,' another reputable scientific journal, has also protested the detention of this researcher and university professor. European and non-Iranian colleagues of Ahmadreza Jalali, in collaboration with the 'Committee of Concerned Scientists,' a non-governmental organization based in New York that supports international scientists and their activities, have also collected signatures demanding the immediate release of Ahmadreza Jalali. Their statement has received over 220,000 signatures from around the world. Mr. Jalali's colleagues at the University of Piemonte in Italy, the government, and several members of parliament in that country have also protested against the detention of this researcher. In Belgium and Sweden, scientific and governmental institutions continue to work to assist Mr. Jalali.