VUB professor sentenced to death without trial in Iran

A petition against Ahmadreza Djalali’s death sentence, which would be carried out in two weeks, has been signed by about 65,000 people, with European universities and Amnesty International putting pressure on Iran.

The 45-year-old teaches part of the European master’s in disaster medicine, a joint master by the VUB and Italy’s Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale. He was arrested in April last year while visiting his family in Iran and spent seven months in isolation, without a trial or seeing a lawyer. He has been on hunger strike several times, the most recent since December, and his health is declining rapidly as a result.

Djalali told his sister that he had been forced to sign a confession, for which he will receive the death penalty. The Iranian government is calling it a matter of national security.

VUB professor Ives Hubloue, who leads the master’s for which Djalali teaches, explained that the programme attracts doctors from all over the world –  such as the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel – and that Iran perhaps finds these contacts threatening. “But this collaboration is crucial, especially for large disasters,” he told De Morgen.

A spokesperson for foreign minister Didier Reynders said he would make contact with the diplomatic representation of the EU in Tehran to see what steps can be taken.

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