WMA’s urgent plea for release of doctor facing death penalty

The World Medical Association has made another urgent appeal to the Iranian authorities to release an Iranian-born Swedish doctor who is facing the death penalty in Iran.

Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a specialist in emergency medicine, has been in detention since his arrest in April 2016 on charges of espionage and for the last few weeks has been on hunger strike. He has not been allowed to see his wife, his lawyer or to receive proper medical care.

Supporters say he is now in a very frail condition and they believe that his death sentence is imminent. Iran’s Supreme Court has rejected Dr. Djalali’s appeal

WMA chair Dr. Frank Montgomery said: ‘We appeal to the Iranian authorities to take immediate action to release Dr. Djalali. He is a prisoner of conscience and there is no evidence that he is anything other than an academic pursuing his profession.

‘Since his detention, he has been denied his fundamental human rights and he has undergone solitary confinement and psychological torture.

‘I appeal to the Iranian authorities to revoke the death sentence for Dr. Djalali. The death penalty violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As such, it constitutes the ultimate denial of human rights, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used to kill the prisoner’.