The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Iranian authorities announced yesterday that while the execution currently scheduled to take place by 21 May maybe postponed following a request from Ahmedreza Djalali’s lawyers, “the verdict is final, and the execution will be carried out.”
“We are deeply alarmed by the imminent execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran of Swedish-Iranian doctor and academic Ahmedreza Djalali and urgently call on the Iranian authorities to halt the execution and revoke his death sentence,” said Throssell.
Djalali was arrested in October 2017 while on a visit to Iran to attend academic workshops on disaster medicine.
“He was charged with espionage and later convicted and sentenced based on a confession that was reportedly extracted under torture, and after a trial that failed to meet international standards. In the current circumstances, the execution would therefore constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life,” she said.
“Use of the death penalty for espionage offences is incompatible with international human rights law. Countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the “most serious crimes.” which is interpreted as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing,” concluded Throssell.
For more information and media requests, please contact for more information and media requests, please contact: Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or Lori Brumat - + 41 22 928 9149 / lori.brumat@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Alley of Flags Palais des Nations
- Cut away: medium shot briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are deeply alarmed by the imminent execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran of Swedish-Iranian doctor and academic Ahmedreza Djalali and urgently call on the Iranian authorities to halt the execution and revoke his death sentence.”
- Cut away: Wide shot briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “He was charged with espionage and later convicted and sentenced based on a confession that was reportedly extracted under torture, and after a trial that failed to meet international standards. In the current circumstances, the execution would therefore constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life.”
- Cut away: podium briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Use of the death penalty for espionage offences is incompatible with international human rights law. Countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the “most serious crimes.” which is interpreted as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing.”
- Cut away: Wide shot briefing room
Similar Stories
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
World AIDS Day 2025: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Gaza women are ‘last line of protection’ for their families amid attacks, hunger and harsh winter – UN Women
Women in Gaza are ensuring their families’ survival “with nothing but courage and exhausted hands” while violence continues and essentials remain in short supply, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Since the ceasefire began on 27 November 2024, Israeli military strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 127 civilians. Nearly a year later, these attacks continue to increase, causing civilian deaths and damage to civilian structures.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNCTAD
A new report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) finds that the prolonged military operation and long-standing restrictions have driven the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory into its most severe contraction on record, wiping out decades of development gains and deepening fiscal and social fragility.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , WFP
Ongoing attacks and airstrikes attributed to Israeli forces in Gaza continue to kill and maim people of all ages in the shattered enclave despite an agreed ceasefire, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , OCHA
Gaza: After Security Council vote humanitarians urge aid scale-up as winter rains hit families hard
Following the UN Security Council’s Monday endorsement of a US peace plan for Gaza, UN humanitarians urged prioritizing aid access under the scheme as severe rains and flooding deepened Palestinian suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher?
That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the ongoing violence in the occupied WestBank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk made the following remarks on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
UN Human Rights Council holds special session on Sudan as mass atrocities reported in El Fasher
The UN Human Rights Council convened an emergency session on Friday on the situation in and around El Fasher, Sudan, following reports of mass killings in the North Darfur capital. States passed a resolution that will mandate an investigation into likely mass atrocities during the capture of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 26 October.
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.