Iran has announced it will execute a Swedish national, who has been jailed in Tehran since 2016. The execution will take place by May 21. Iranian officials have confirmed that the death penalty against Ahmad Reza Jalali will be implemented this month.
Iran's decision came as Tehran summoned its Swedish envoy over a trial of an Iranian national charged with grave war crimes in Sweden.
Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency confirmed that Iranian authorities will hang Jalali, who was convicted of spying against the Islamic republic, in the next two weeks.
Jalali, a Swedish-Iranian physician, previously provided his academic services at multiple European universities.
Jalali Was Sentenced To Death Over Espionage Charges
In 2017, Iran sentenced him to death over espionage charges. His confession was aired on Iranian state TV but experts pointed out that it appeared to be a forced confession.
Jalali, in the confession video, revealed that he shared information related to Iran's nuclear scientists with foreign intelligence services.
His detention was widely condemned by the rights group. Tehran has been following a pattern of sentencing dual citizens to life terms on various charges to pressure Western countries. Rights groups see Jalali as a fresh victim of this practice.
Iran claimed that Jalali was spying for Israel and sharing information related to Iran's nuclear program. Jalali has two children, who live with his wife Vida Mehran Nia in Sweden.
What Was Jalali Doing in Iran in 2016?
Jalali has previously visited Iran multiple times as Tehran University and the Iranian Red Crescent used to invite him for scientific seminars and workshops. But no official or police action was taken against him before 2016.
It's also believed that he was arrested as he refused to cooperate with Iran's other countries' terrorism-related information.
He was arrested on April 24, 2016, three days before his scheduled departure from Iran. His trial was conducted under the Revolutionary Court. Jalali's official death sentence was announced in October 2017.
