Physician leaders appeal against doctor’s execution

The World Medical Association has appealed to Iran’s leaders to intervene to prevent the imminent execution of an Iranian-born Swedish doctor.

In a letter to Iran’s President and Supreme Leader, the WMA President Dr. David Barbe and Chair Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery said reports indicated that the death sentence would shortly be carried out on Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a specialist in emergency medicine.

They said the WMA was ‘appalled’ by this news, which comes despite repeated calls from the international community for Dr. Djalali’s release.

Dr. Djalali has been in detention facing the death penalty since his arrest in April 2016 on charges of espionage.

The WMA leaders write: ‘Various sources of information unanimously confirm that Dr. Djalali is a specialist in emergency medicine peacefully pursuing his profession. We believe that he is a prisoner of conscience’.

They add: ‘The freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial are fundamental human rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that the Republic of Iran has ratified in 1975 and for which you are accountable. We therefore call on the Iranian authorities to take immediate action in line with its commitments and to release Dr. Djalali immediately and unconditionally.

‘We appeal to your humanity and sense of justice and trust that you will take promptly all the necessary steps related to our demands’.