What changed

B100280/2025

B100286/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on Casethe case of Ahmadreza Jalali in Iran

(2025/2753(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to Rule 150(5) of itsprevious Rulesresolutions ofon Procedure,Iran,

whereas Ahmadreza Jalali a Swedish-Iranian academic and professor at the VUB University in Belgium, was arrested in April 2016 while visiting Iran to attend academic workshops; whereas he was charged with espionage, convicted and sentenced to death; whereas according to UN independent experts the sentence was based on a confession that was extracted under torture and following a trial that allegedly failed to meet international standards; whereas Jalali’s health situation has further deteriorated and resulted in a heart attack in May;

having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas in recent years, Iran has arrested dozens of Western nationals, many with dual-citizenship, on charges related to espionage and security;

whereas Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian lecturer and researcher at the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels (VUB) Belgium and Universita degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale in Italy, was arrested on 25 April 2016 in Tehran while attending academic workshops on disaster medicine in Tehran, Iran; whereas Ahmadreza Djalali was accused for spying for Israel and after a mock trial, was sentenced to death; whereas Ahmadreza Djalali has been arbitrarily detained in the notorious Evin prison and pressured into false confessions under torture;

whereas the Iranian authorities have intensified their use of the death penalty; whereas in 2024 executions have increased, with 901 persons executed and at least 578 so far in 2025;

whereas his situation has been described as inhumane; whereas he suffered a heart attack in May 2025, leading to increased international calls for his release given that his health has sharply deteriorated and described as life-threatening;

Strongly condemns the increase of executions in Iran; reiterates its strong opposition to the use of the death penalty worldwide and urges to introduce a moratorium as a first step towards the abolition of capital punishment;

whereas the human rights situation in Iran is increasingly deteriorating, and experts have pointed to a well-documented pattern of unlawful and arbitrary detentions in Iran of dual and foreign nationals or residents, including citizens of EU Member States; whereas European-Iranian dual nationals continue to be arrested, receive unfair trials, are placed in solitary confinement and sentenced on the basis of false and vague espionage charges; whereas Iran routinely uses hostage diplomacy as a foreign policy tool, including in the cases of European citizens, notably Dr Ahmedreza Djalali;

Calls on the Iranian authorities to promptly revoke the death sentence against Ahmadreza Jalali, and to review his case as well as those of other death row inmates; requests his release on humanitarian grounds; demands to investigate Jalali´s allegations of torture and denial of fair trial rights and to ensure immediate and adequate medical assistance to him;

whereas Iranian courts, particularly revolutionary courts, regularly fail to provide fair trials and accept confessions obtained under torture as evidence in court; whereas the authorities also routinely restrict detainees’ access to legal counsel, particularly during the investigation period; whereas the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is included in the US sanctions list for their involvement in grave human rights violations;

Calls on the Iranian authorities to respect the fundamental right of the defendants to access a lawyer of their choice and the right to a fair trial and due process, to grant suspects access to their families, consular visits, as well as full access to medical treatment and health care services in accordance with Iran’s international obligations;

Calls on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release Ahmadreza Djalali;

Strongly condemns the use of torture and other ill-treatment and urges Iranian authorities to put an end to the use of torture in places of detention; stresses that any alleged information obtained as a result of torture and ill-treatment should never be admitted as evidence in a judicial proceeding;

Strongly condemns Iran’s policy of hostage diplomacy; expresses grave concern about Ahmadreza Djalali’s situation and firmly calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure that his rights are protected at all times, including access to adequate medical care and full access to his family and lawyers of his own choice;

Condemns the practice of detaining and prosecuting dual nationals and using them as hostage to achieve foreign affairs aims;

Reminds the Iranian authorities of their obligation to treat Ahmadreza Djalali in line with human rights standards and that they are ultimately responsible for providing humane conditions of detention and healthcare;

Reiterates its call on Iran to provide the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and the UN Fact-Finding Mission with full, unimpeded access to the country;

Strongly condemns the ongoing deterioration of human rights in Iran and condemns the Iranian regime’s use of the death penalty as a means of political repression;

Calls on Member States to facilitate visas, asylum and emergency grants for those who need to flee Iran;

Reiterates its call on the Council to expand the EU sanctions list to all those responsible for human rights violations in Iran;

Stresses that further isolating Iran at global level can have detrimental consequences, such as strengthening hardliners of the regimen, further degrading women’s right as well as contributing to nuclear proliferation;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the relevant parties.

Strongly condemns the violent actions taken by the State of Israel against Iran on the night of 13 June, which were in violation of the UN Charter and international law;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, Member States, and the Iranian authorities.