What changed

B100285/2025

B100296/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the case of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali’s illegal arrest and detentionJalali in Iran

(2025/2753(RSP))

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,Iran;

having regard to the Third Geneva Convention and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners,

– having regard to its rule of procedure 150(5);

having regard to Articles 32, 37, 38 and 39 of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI),

A. whereas since 1 October 2024 over 1000 individuals have been executed in Iran, including political activists, women protesters, and minority group members;

having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

B. whereas Iran systematically denies detainees due process, including access to counsel, use of torture, forced confessions, and extended solitary confinement;

whereas Iranian regime widely practices a hostage taking policy against foreign nationals and currently holds in detention dozens of innocent EU nationals;

C. whereas Iranian authorities engage in hostage diplomacy by arbitrarily detaining dual and EU citizens;

whereas on April 25, 2016, Dr. Ahmad Reza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian disaster-medicine expert, was arrested by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence;

D. whereas Professor Ahmadreza Jalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic specialist in disaster medicine, has been detained since April 2016, sentenced to death following a grossly unfair trial, denied legal representation and essential healthcare, and remains at imminent risk of execution despite international appeals;

whereas Djalali has been denied adequate medical care despite severe physical deterioration and the risk to his life, including a recent heart attack that he suffered while being held at Evin prison; whereas Iran has continued to threaten the implementation of his death sentence, including in apparent response to recent developments.

1. Expresses its grave concern over the case of Ahmadreza Jalali; condemns his sentence to death penalty based on a coerced confession obtained under torture, and demands his immediate, unconditional release; calls for his immediate and unconditional release and, in the meantime, for his urgent and permanent transfer to a hospital or clinic where he can receive specialised and regular medical care that is not available in Evin prison;

whereas international bodies and human rights organisations have warned that Iranian authorities are holding Djalali hostage and threatening to execute him as a means to put pressure on foreign Governments;

2. Reiterates its strong opposition to death penalty in all circumstances, urges Iran to introduce an immediate moratorium as a first step toward its abolition, and demands cessation of all executions;

Whereas we note a horrific rise in executions in Iran; whereas hundreds of individuals have already been executed in 2025, and in 2024, at least 972 individuals were executed - a 14% increase since 2023;

3. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all EU and dual‐citizens detained in Iran, as part of an end to hostage diplomacy;

whereas the Iranian government refuses to recognise. Djalali’s legitimate Swedish citizenship;

4. Deplores ongoing practices of torture, including solitary confinement, forced confessions, and denial of legal defence, and urges Iran to uphold its international human rights obligations ;

whereas the defence of human rights, democracy and the rule of law should be a priority in EU-Iran relations;

5. Urges the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, and to expand targeted sanctions under the EU human rights sanctions regime against individuals responsible for abuses, including in Jalali’s case;

Strongly condemns the brutal treatment of Djalali by the Iranian authorities, amounting to torture and other ill-treatment, as he was arbitrarily detained, subjected to months of interrogation in solitary confinement, and then sentenced to death, following a sham trial based on coerced confessions of espionage extracted under torture;

6. Demands that Iran grant full access to UN human rights mechanisms, including the UN Special Rapporteur and fact-finding mission, to investigate abuse cases such as Jalali’s;

Calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt any plans to carry out the death sentence and to release Djalali to his home country of Sweden without delay;

7. Calls on the High Representative and Member States to intensify diplomatic efforts to secure Jalali’s release, including through raising his case in bilateral negotiations and EU-Iran human rights dialogue;

Urges Iran to provide Djalali with immediate and unrestricted access to necessary specialised medical care at an external hospital, legal representation, and regular contact with his family;

8. Commends Iran’s women-led “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, and encourages the EU to increase humanitarian and civil society funding aimed at empowering women, minorities, and independent academics;

Urges the Iranian authorities to immediately release, safely repatriate and drop all charges against EU nationals;

9. Emphasises that demonstrable human rights improvements and the release of political prisoners must be central to all elements of EU-Iran engagement;

Calls on Sweden and other EU Member States and the EEAS to intensify diplomatic efforts and consider targeted measures in response to Iran’s continued detention of EU nationals including Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, in violation of international law;

10. Instructs its President to transmit this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative, the government and Supreme Leader of Iran, UN Secretary-General, and the UN Human Rights Council.

Reiterates its call on the Council to designate the IRGC a terrorist organisation and to extend EU sanctions to all those responsible for taking EU nationals hostages, massive executions of opposition voices, and other human rights violations;

Requests the VP/HR to publicly raise Djalali’s case and in all engagements with Iranian counterparts;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the government of Iran, the VP/HR, the Commission, the Member States and the United Nations;