Ahmad Reza Djalali

Ahmad Reza Djalali (born 15 September 1971) is an Iranian-Swedish disaster medicine doctor, lecturer, and researcher.

He has worked in several universities in Europe, among which Karolinska University of Sweden, where he had also attended his PhD program, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale (Italy), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium).

He also cooperated with universities in Iran and is in contact with universities worldwide.

Djalali was arrested in April 2016 in Iran and sentenced to death on the charges of espionage and treason, in what human rights organizations said to be "a grossly unfair trial."

According to Djalali, he has been tortured and threatened during the period of his arrest.

Djalali's academic work in the field of disaster medicine has looked at issues related to emergency medicine in a range of contexts, such as Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Iran and has over 700 citations.

He was a key figure in establishing the Università del Piemonte Orientale (CRIMEDIM) Research Center in Emergency and Disaster in Italy and has been part of important studies on the level of preparedness of hospitals for disasters.

Published studies he co-authored have also looked at hospital preparedness for earthquakes, man-made conflicts, Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies and massive influxes of emergency patients.

A 2016 study looked at the preparedness level of Emergency Departments of Italian hospitals by assessing the knowledge-base of emergency physicians on basic disaster planning and procedures.

The study found a need to enhance staff disaster preparedness education, training and follow-up to ensure understanding and awareness of Emergency Plans.

He has also contributed to the development of curricula for post-graduate courses on disaster medicine for undergraduates and postgraduates.

In April 2016, when he was visiting Iran following an invitation from the University of Tehran and Shiraz University, he was arrested upon order of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, without a reason for arrest.

Two weeks later he was charged of espionage and collaboration with Israel, the proof being an alleged letter from his spouse, which was said to contain evidence of the accusations.

His family was not informed on his whereabouts for ten days, though they knew he had been arrested.

After being held at an unknown location for approximately seven days, he was transferred to section 209 of Evin prison, where he was held for seven months.

During the calls made to his family, Djalali said he had been held in solitary confinement for three months, and the following months in partial isolation.

On 31 January 2017, after nine months of detention, Djalali was taken to branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran where he was formally charged with espionage and was told that he could face the death penalty.

Reportedly, his lawyer was not allowed to be present at the hearing and was denied access to the case files.

Djalali was sentenced to death on 21 October 2017, on the charge of “corruption on Earth” (ifsad fil-arz).

He was then incarcerated at Evin prison.

In November 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention formally requested the Iranian Government to provide detailed information about his detention, but did not receive a response.

In late 2017, on Iranian state-sponsored television, they presented him as a spy and showed an alleged confession which, according to Djalali, was a pre-written text that he was forced to read under threat of execution and threats of harming his loved ones.

Attempts by his lawyer to submit appeals for judicial review of the sentence have been rejected.

In November 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention formally requested the Iranian Government to provide detailed information about his detention and it did not receive a response.

United Nations human rights experts appealed to Iran to annul the death sentence against Djalali for the first time during 2017.

In particular, blood tests run in 2018 indicated a low white blood cell count.

On 9 February 2018, United Nations human rights experts urgently called on Iran to lift the death sentence against Djalali.

Subsequently, he was examined by a medical doctor in early 2019 at Evin Prison; he was recommended to be seen by a specialist in haematology in hospital, but this request was denied.

The recommended follow-up examinations have not been done.

Reportedly, Djalali has lost 24 kg since the time of his arrest.

The World Medical Association has taken up his case and its president, Ketan Desai, wrote to the Iranian authorities saying that the conditions under which Djalali is being held contravene medical ethics and human rights law.

In December 2020 he was offered a fellowship by Harvard, following his acceptance into the BIDMC Fellowship in Disaster Medicine.

The position at BIDMC includes an academic appointment as a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School.

In the award letter, Gregory R. Ciottone, Director of the Division of Disaster Medicine, described Djalali as “a strong academician and leader.

As a Disaster Medicine fellow, you will represent all of us through your academic diligence, professionalism, and conduct.”

In November 2020, Djalali was transferred to solitary confinement in Evin prison.

On 24 November the prosecuting authority informed Amnesty International that Djalali's death sentence was a matter of weeks away.

UN rights experts called on Iranian authorities to quash the death sentence of Djalali.

Amnesty urged members of the international community to intervene immediately to halt the execution.

Djalali's health condition has reportedly been deteriorating since his arrest.