Where is Ahmadreza Djalali, the father of two who researched at the Karolinska Institute before being arrested and sentenced to death in Iran in 2016?
His lawyer in Iran has several times demanded to visit his client or at least speak to him on the phone, but to no avail.
Djalali was imprisoned in Evin Prison before it became a target for an Israeli attack during the twelve-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
After that, he was moved - first together with the other prisoners to a large prison just south of the capital, then to a secret location without fellow prisoners.
He has been missing since then, says his wife Vida Mehrannia, who for over nine years has been fighting to get her husband back to Sweden.
Denied consular access
The Swedish Embassy in Iran has also requested consular access to Djalali, who had a permanent residence permit in Sweden when he traveled to Iran on a business trip in 2016, but became a Swedish citizen only after his imprisonment.
But Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, and has not complied with the Swedish demands.
When Sweden carried out a prisoner exchange with Iran in 2024, when the Swedish lifer Iranian executioner Hamid Noury was exchanged for two Swedes in Iran, Djalali was left behind. Since then, his health has deteriorated sharply, and in May this year he suffered a heart attack that he did not receive adequate care for.
But it's not just the health problems that pose a danger to Ahmadreza Djalali. Since he was sentenced to death for espionage for Israel after a summary trial, he is considered to be at increased risk of being executed in the near future.
"Extremely worrying"
Iran has stepped up executions since the war. In July, 110 people were executed - which is more than twice as many as in 2024, a year when Iran carried out a record number of executions.
The death sentences were carried out despite Iran celebrating a religious holiday, Muharram, in July, which usually means fewer executions.
Now that it's over, there are fears that even more will be taken to the gallows - especially those who have been sentenced for political or security-related reasons, according to Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, founder of the Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), which keeps statistics on executions in Iran.
The situation for Ahmadreza Djalali is extremely worrying, he says.
Ahmadreza Djalali is a doctor and researcher in disaster medicine. He received his doctorate from the Karolinska Institute in 2012.
He was arrested in Iran in 2016, where he had traveled to participate in a seminar on disaster medicine.
He has since been sentenced to death for espionage allegations that he has always denied. He is reported to have been forced to confess under torture.
But when Sweden carried out a prisoner exchange with Iran in 2024, to get Swedish citizens back in exchange for the Swedish lifer Iranian Hamid Noury, he was left behind. According to the Swedish government, Iran did not even want to discuss his case in the negotiations.
During the more than nine years he has been in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, his health has deteriorated sharply. In May 2025, he suffered a heart attack.
