UN Experts: Iran Must Immediately Revoke Ahmadreza Jalali's Death Sentence

Four UN experts have urged Iran to immediately revoke the death sentence of Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian physician accused of nuclear espionage. According to a statement from these experts published on Wednesday, December 20, it is claimed that the handling of Mr. Jalali's accusations has been fraught with numerous issues, and evidence and reports indicate that his trial was not fair and involved multiple violations. These experts, who investigate human rights issues in Iran including unlawful detentions, torture, and executions, referenced reports stating that Ahmadreza Jalali has been held in solitary confinement without contact with others and access to a lawyer, and he was coerced into confessing. The Iranian government recently aired a video of Ahmadreza Jalali's confessions, produced by the counter-espionage section of the Ministry of Intelligence. Alongside Mr. Jalali's statements, a third-person narrator in the video accuses him of providing information about two Iranian nuclear researchers to Israeli intelligence, which led to their assassinations. However, Mr. Jalali has denied the espionage allegations in a recorded audio file from prison, asserting that his televised confessions were edited and distorted. He also stated that these confessions were obtained under duress and that he had no access to a lawyer or investigator. The UN experts' statement also noted that after Ahmadreza Jalali's arrest, 'no formal charges were brought against him for ten months, and he was deprived of his rights to challenge the validity and legitimacy of his detention.' The statement ultimately emphasizes that 'Dr. Jalali's death sentence must be revoked immediately, and he should be released. He should also have the right to seek compensation for the damages inflicted on his life.' Ahmadreza Jalali is a Swedish resident and has collaborated with the University of Piemonte in Italy as a researcher. He was arrested in May 2016 when he traveled to Iran at the invitation of the University of Tehran, but news of his arrest was not made public until December of that year. Ahmadreza Jalali's wife recently told Radio Farda that the Iranian Supreme Court has confirmed Mr. Jalali's death sentence, but this ruling has not yet been communicated to them. The issuance of this sentence has also faced strong reactions from Amnesty International, which stated that Iranian courts have 'undermined the rule of law' by confirming Mr. Jalali's death sentence.