MEPs call on Kaja Kallas to meet family of imprisoned academic Ahmadreza Djalali
A group of MEPs has urged Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, to meet the family of Ahmadreza Djalali - a Swedish-Iranian emergency doctor and visiting professor at Belgium's Vrije Universiteit Brussel who has spent nine years in prison in Iran.
In a letter, the MEPs, including Belgians Hilde Vautmans, Bruno Tobback, Kathleen Van Brempt and Sophie Wilmès, stressed that Djalali "must not become a forgotten hostage" and called for increased EU action to secure his release.
They called on the EU to use its full diplomatic weight to press Iran for Djalali's release. They highlighted his deteriorating health, the continued risk of execution and the psychological burden on his family.
The letter also urged Kallas to meet publicly with Djalali's family to signal that the EU stands firmly with its citizens, and to coordinate efforts with US counterparts to increase pressure on Tehran.
'Nine dark years'
Djalali, who is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, recently released an audio message describing his imprisonment as psychological torture.
He spoke of prolonged solitary confinement and the use of his detention as a political bargaining chip during the Belgian trial of Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi and the Swedish trial of former Iranian official Hamid Nouri. Despite repeated calls for his release, Djalali said he felt abandoned by European authorities.
His wife, Vida Mehrannia, told MEPs of "nine dark years'" of fear and uncertainty for her and their two children. She appealed to the EU, as well as Sweden, Belgium and Italy, where Djalali also taught, to do everything possible to bring him home.
Vida Mehrannia at a meeting of the Chamber's Commission for External Relations © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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