The KI researcher may have been imprisoned for use in prisoner exchanges

Swedish-Iranian Ahmadreza Djalali has been sentenced to death in Iran, accused of spying on behalf of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.

In recent days, there have been reports that Djalali is about to be executed very soon.

Shortly afterwards, however, information came from Amnesty, among others, which indicates that the execution of the death penalty has been postponed.

Hope has now been raised that Djalali may be subject to prisoner exchange.

There are several examples of people from other countries, some of them with dual citizenship, who were imprisoned when they visited Iran on suspicion of espionage or various conspiracies against the state.

Just a few days ago, British-Australian religion researcher Kylie Moore-Gilbert was released after two years in prison in Iran in what looked like a prisoner exchange. 

"Completely fabricated"

Now the Iranian ambassador to Sweden, Ahmad Masoumi, is commenting on the case.

According to the ambassador, the information that Djalali was imprisoned for use in exchange of prisoners by other Iranian prisoners in Europe is "totally baseless".

- It is a completely fabricated scenario.

It may even be the other way around because the Iranian prisoners in Europe were imprisoned after him, Masoumi writes in an email to SVT.

According to Masoumi, Djalali was part of a "dangerous puzzle game" that led to the murder of several Iranian nuclear scientists.

He also believes that the Iranian people are behind the decision to sentence Djalali to death.

The ambassador has not commented on the question of whether Djalali can be considered for a prisoner exchange in the future.

"Have had a lawyer"

International human rights organizations have repeatedly pointed out that the trial of Djalali is unfair as it was based on unfounded accusations and false confessions.

The accusations are refuted by Ambassador Ahmad Masoumi, who says that Djalali had a lawyer present during his trial and also had regular telephone contact with his wife during his time in prison.

The fact that Djalali has dual citizenship will hardly benefit him, writes Masoumi, who believes that the issuance of Djalali's Swedish citizenship was a political act.

- Such a policy will not have a positive effect on a trial, he writes.

Sitting in Evin Prison in Tehran

Ahmadreza Djalali has been in Iranian prison since 2016 and was sentenced to death in 2017. In 2018, he received Swedish citizenship, a decision taken by the Swedish Migration Board.

Since then, he has mainly been imprisoned in the infamous Evin prison outside the capital Tehran.