What changed

on case of Ahmadreza Jalali in Iran

B100285/2025

B100300/2025

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

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

(2025/2753(RSP))

having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

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

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

having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

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 in April 2016 after he visited Iran to attend workshops on disaster medicine and sentenced to death in October 2017 on false charges of espionage, after being severely pressured into false confessions under torture;

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

whereas Djalali has been detained in the Evin prison since 2016 in violation of international law; whereas his health situation has further deteriorated and resulted in a heart attack last month; whereas his case remains under an active death sentence, with no execution date set, and execution threats continue to loom amid political back-and-forth;

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;

whereas Iranian courts, and particularly revolutionary courts, regularly fall short of providing fair trials and use confessions obtained under torture as evidence in court; whereas authorities also restrict detainees’ access to legal counsel, particularly during the investigation period;

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.

whereas European-Iranian dual nationals continue to be arrested, receive unfair trials, are placed in solitary confinement and sentenced based on false and vague espionage charges;

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;

whereas Iran uses arbitrary detentions of dual and foreign nationals or residents as bargaining tools to put pressure on foreign Governments and in prisoner exchanges;

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;

Calls on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release Ahmadreza Djalali and all others imprisoned on false charges or for solely exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and human rights activities;

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

Expresses grave concern about the situation of Ahmadreza Djalali and all others unlawfully imprisoned in Iran; firmly calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure that the rights of prisoners are protected at all times, including access to proper medical care, family visits, and chosen legal representation;

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

Condemns Iran’s hostage diplomacy; calls on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release all detained EU and dual EU nationals; urges the EU and its Member States to develop a comprehensive strategy to counter hostage diplomacy, including with a dedicated task force on Iran to better assist detainees’ families and effectively prevent further hostage-taking;

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;

Firmly denounces the Iranian authorities' weaponization of the death penalty as a tool of intimidation against the population, aimed at silencing dissent and disproportionately targeting women, political opponents, and persecuted ethnic and religious groups;

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;

Is deeply concerned by the increasing and systematic repression of ethnic and religious minorities, women and dissidents in Iran - that face arbitrary arrest and detention, unfair trials and lengthy imprisonment - through laws and regulations that severely restrict their freedoms and rights;

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;

Reiterates its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, noting that the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court’s ruling on the 2022 Bochum synagogue attack provides the necessary legal grounds;

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

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Parliament and Government of Iran.

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;

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;