A scientist facing execution in Iran has accused the Swedish Prime Minister of abandoning him in a recent prisoner swap between the two countries.
In voice messages from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish–Iranian who has embarked on a hunger strike, made a plea to Ulf Kristersson to work for his release, after Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri was freed in return for the release of Swedish citizen and EU diplomat Johan Floderus and dual citizen Saeed Azizi.
Mr Djalali was arrested on a trip to Iran in 2016 and sentenced to death after he was convicted of sending confidential details to Israeli intelligence service Mossad, but told his family this was after he had refused to co-operate with Iran’s intelligence services.
In the voice messages, which his wife Vida Mehrannia shared with The National, Mr Djalali accused Mr Kristersson of abandoning him to his fate.
“Mr Prime Minister, you decided to leave me behind under huge risk of being executed in Evin. You didn’t act on altering my condition and cancelling this death sentence before the swap [was] done.”
Mr Djalali said while he was “very happy” at the release of the Swedish citizen by the Iranians, he said “you left me here helpless” and that he has now spent “3,000 days of my life” in prison.
“When you decided to leave me behind, you were not able to imagine how badly my wife and children have suffered over the past few years,” he said.
“My wife and my family are on the same Earth but in two different worlds. They are heart-broken, fearful and full of sadness.
“Mr Prime Minister, my son was four when I was detained and now he’s 12 and a half. He’s spent two thirds of his life without a father.”
Ms Mehrannia told The National she was "surprised and shocked when I saw in the media there had been a prisoner swap but there was no mention of Ahmadreza.
“For eight years we have been working to release him and his case was on the table between Iran and Sweden but they’ve left him behind now," she said.
"That’s disgusting and ridiculous for me. He has again got a death sentence, this time by the Swedish government."
Ms Mehrannia said her husband “has been under a psychological torture for eight years”.
“I’m really worried because it’s possible that any day they could carry out the sentence,” she said.
“There have been a lot of executions in Iran and everyone knows about the horrors of the country.”
She also disclosed that he had begun a hunger strike.
"The only way anyone can hear his voice in the world is to just start a hunger strike" she said.
Iran has in recent years been accused of detaining dual and foreign citizens as hostages to use as political bargaining chips to extract concessions.
Last year, five US citizens held by Iran were freed in return for Washington issuing a waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar.
An expert on emergency medicine who lived in Stockholm, Mr Djalali worked at the Karolinska Medical Institute and is well known in his field.
The Iranian authorities announced they would execute him in 2022 but that was halted after his lawyers appealed.
Iran had previously threatened to execute Mr Djalali in 2020, as a Belgian court was considering verdicts in the case of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian spymaster, who was accused of plotting to blow up a dissidents’ rally in France. The threat of immediate execution was lifted, even after Assadi was convicted and jailed for 20 years.
Last year, when Mr Nouri was convicted for his role in the 1988 prison massacres in Iran, the Iranian media released a propaganda video with Mr Djalali’s forced “confessions”. He was told again in December 2023 that he would be executed.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry has been approached for comment.
After the prisoners’ release, Mr Kristersson said he understood the swap had been "received with mixed feelings" but he stood by the "difficult" decision.
"These are two people who have experienced hell on Earth," he said.
"I understand how this is received with mixed feelings, not least among Swedes who stem from Iran. This was not an easy deliberation the government has had to make, but sometimes you have to do difficult things and do what is right."
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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'O'
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
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- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
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'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
