'No more empty statements:' Iran ex-detainees press Sweden over death row academic

Over 20 overseas nationals who themselves endured years of captivity successful Iran connected Wednesday urged Sweden to measurement up efforts to escaped a Swedish-Iranian national sentenced to decease successful the country, aft helium had a bosom onslaught past week.

Ahmadreza Djalali, an world who was sentenced to decease successful 2017 connected espionage charges helium denies, suffered a bosom onslaught successful Tehran's Evin prison, his woman said Friday.

Djalali, 53, is among a fig of Europeans held by Iran successful what immoderate countries including France telephone a deliberate hostage-taking strategy to extract concessions from the West astatine a clip of hostility implicit Tehran's atomic programme.

Djalali's condition, "worsened by years of aesculapian neglect and intelligence torment, is present dire," said the 21 erstwhile detainees including British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert and US-Iranian Siamak Namazi, who were freed lone aft years-long ordeals successful prison.

"While the Islamic Republic and its heinous signifier of hostage diplomacy is the wide culprit here, we are profoundly troubled by your government's nonaccomplishment to usage the means astatine its disposal to rescue Dr Djalali," they said successful the missive addressed to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson via Stockholm's embassy successful Washington.

"No much bare statements. Sweden indispensable enactment with the aforesaid urgency and resoluteness it has shown successful securing the state of different citizens," they added successful the missive seen by AFP.

Djalali was granted Swedish nationality portion successful jail.

- 'A way home' -

The missive said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had offered a imaginable mode guardant successful a caller societal media station that it said "implicitly linked" the lawsuit to Iran's inability to entree attraction for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a illness that affects hundreds of Iranian children and tin beryllium fatal without due care.

"The specialised coiled dressings required to dainty EB, produced by a Swedish company, person agelong been blocked owed to over-compliance with sanctions," the missive said.

In a station connected X past week that lamented a "regrettable shift" successful bilateral relations, Araghchi said "Sweden ceased non-sanctionable exports of medicines, including specialised and unsocial cogwheel for children afflicted with EB".

In June 2024, Tehran freed 2 Swedes held successful Iran successful speech for Hamid Noury, a erstwhile Iranian prisons authoritative serving a beingness condemnation successful Sweden. To the disappointment of his family, Djalali was not included successful the swap.

In the letter, the ex-detainees told Kristersson: "A way to bring Dr Djalali location -- alive, not successful a coffin -- appears wrong reach.

"If Sweden fails to prosecute it earnestly and this Swedish national dies successful captivity, past volition grounds that your authorities had much than 1 accidental to prevention him -- but chose not to. That work volition remainder squarely with you."

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