Mahmoud Sadeghi: Ahmadreza Jalali Was Not Given Sufficient Opportunity to Defend Himself During Legal Proceedings

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, stated on Wednesday, February 14, that Ahmadreza Jalali, a physician and university professor sentenced to death on charges of 'espionage,' was not afforded adequate opportunity to defend himself during various stages of the legal process. Sadeghi wrote on his Twitter account: 'Yesterday, I received the complaint of Ahmadreza Jalali, who has been sentenced to death for alleged connections with an enemy state; initial examination of the complaint shows that he was not given sufficient opportunity to defend himself at various stages of the proceedings.' He noted that Jalali's interview with state television was conducted under pressure. The Revolutionary Court sentenced Ahmadreza Jalali to death on charges of 'espionage for Israel.' Meanwhile, the Iranian Supreme Court has rejected the request to review Jalali's death sentence. Zeynab Taheri, Jalali's defense attorney, previously stated that the judge rejected her request during a trial that lasted less than an hour. Ahmadreza Jalali was living in Sweden and teaching at European universities before his arrest in Iran. He was detained in May 2016, and two months ago, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence issued by the Revolutionary Court. Jalali has denied the charges against him, claiming he was arrested and tried for refusing to spy for Iran. Various UN bodies, the European Union, Amnesty International, and several European universities have condemned the issuance of the death sentence and called for a review of the case. Iranian state television aired a video of Jalali's confessions. However, Jalali's wife stated that interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence threatened her in solitary confinement in Ward 209 with the abuse of their children to pressure her into producing a video with 'fabricated and false content.' UN experts have called on Iran to revoke Ahmadreza Jalali's death sentence.