Siamak Namazi: Leaving Ahmadreza Jalali Alone in Iran is 'Against Conscience'

Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American citizen who was freed from the clutches of the Islamic Republic last year, expressed concern over the situation of Ahmadreza Jalali, a Swedish-Iranian citizen imprisoned in Iran, in an article published in The Guardian. In the article published on Friday, July 8, he writes: 'I endured Evin, the most notorious prison in Iran; I do not understand how Sweden can leave its citizen there to die.' The Iranian-American citizen further states: 'I am very happy that two Swedes were freed as part of a prisoner exchange agreement, but leaving a Swedish citizen sentenced to death in Iran is against conscience.' Siamak Namazi describes himself as 'a former hostage who spent eight years in the terrifying Evin prison in Iran, enduring captivity and oppression,' and was freed last year as part of a prisoner exchange agreement between the U.S. and Iran, similar to the deal that brought Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anooshah Ashouri back to their homes in Britain two years ago. Roger Carstens, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, welcomed the freed Americans - including Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, and Emad Sharqi - upon their arrival in the U.S. (September 20, 2023). He adds: 'I firmly believe that we cannot leave our innocent citizens in the dungeons of rogue nations. Hostage deals, while distasteful, are necessary. We must do whatever it takes to rescue our at-risk citizens while also imposing tough penalties to prevent hostage-taking once and for all. However, I find even the recent hostage deal of Sweden to be unpleasant.' The Swedish government recently exchanged Hamid Noury, a former Iranian judicial official sentenced to life imprisonment by the Swedish Supreme Court for his role in the mass executions of the 1980s, for Johan Flodros and Saeed Azizi, two Swedish citizens imprisoned in Iran. Siamak Namazi described Stockholm's decision to leave Ahmadreza Jalali, another imprisoned Swedish-Iranian citizen at risk of execution, as 'unconscionable.' According to Siamak Namazi, the Swedish government undoubtedly knew that leaving Ahmadreza Jalali in Iran was akin to signing his death warrant. Siamak Namazi further states that this deal shows the Swedish government has established a hierarchy regarding the value of its citizens' lives and that the negotiator was incompetent. Namazi writes that Sweden freed Hamid Noury, who was convicted of participating in the murder of hundreds of political prisoners in Iran and was simply the most significant political prisoner of the Islamic Republic in Europe. He writes: 'Sweden claims that Tehran refused to recognize Ahmadreza Jalali as its Swedish citizen, but I believe that if [Sweden] had known the value of the card it held, it could have secured the freedom of all its citizens and several other European hostages as well.' Ahmadreza Jalali, a Swedish-Iranian doctor, traveled to Tehran in spring 2016 at the invitation of Tehran University for a lecture and was arrested. Iranian judicial authorities sentenced Ahmadreza Jalali to death on charges of 'espionage.' Many international human rights figures and groups have criticized the Islamic Republic and called for the immediate and unconditional release of this Swedish-Iranian citizen. Recently, Ahmadreza Jalali criticized Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in an audio file for being left alone during the prisoner exchange in Iran. He emphasized that he believes his remaining in Iran is a clear discrimination, referring to the release of Johan Flodros and Saeed Azizi, who were exchanged for Hamid Noury. Ahmadreza Jalali announced that he would go on a hunger strike in protest of not being included in the recent exchange of Swedish prisoners in Iran for Hamid Noury. Vida Mehranian, Ahmadreza Jalali's wife, announced this news on her social media account and wrote that this dual-national prisoner would begin his hunger strike on Wednesday, July 6. She further stated that Ahmadreza Jalali has endured nearly three thousand days of 'unimaginable torment' in the 'terrifying Evin prison,' and despite knowing that a hunger strike could be fatal due to his fragile health, he has no other option. Vida Mehranian, in a letter sent to Voice of America, states that her husband is going on a hunger strike after the Swedish government left him to his fate and removed his name from the recent exchange that led to the release of other Swedes. Many political experts believe that the Islamic Republic of Iran detains foreign citizens, especially dual nationals, using baseless accusations and employs them as political bargaining chips, effectively taking these citizens hostage.