Wife of Swedish-Iranian on death row pleads for EU action

STOCKHOLM: The wife of Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmedreza Djalali, convicted of espionage in Iran and sentenced to death, pleaded on Tuesday for stronger action from the EU.

"Every night we are worried that something will happen to my husband," Vida Mehrannia told AFP in an interview from Stockholm. Djalali was due to be hanged on May 21 but Mehrannia said the execution did not take place.

She fears, however, that unless the EU were to take strong action and apply pressure on Iran, then "absolutely, it will happen soon." Djalali’s lawyer Helaleh Moussavian told AFP on Sunday that his defence team had requested a retrial, citing new evidence.

Djalali was sentenced to death in 2017 on charges of espionage for Israel, allegations denied by Sweden and his supporters. He was found guilty of passing information about two Iranian nuclear scientists to Israel’s Mossad spy agency that led to their assassinations. Rights organisations and the Swedish government have condemned his sentence.