Flemish Parliament seeks clarity from Iranian ambassador on Ahmadreza Djalali's condition
The Foreign Policy Committee of the Flemish Parliament has invited the Iranian ambassador to provide information on the fate of Ahmadreza Djalali, the Iranian-Swedish professor who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2016.
“After three months without any news, concern about the condition of Prof. Ahmadreza Djalali is greater than ever. The MPs therefore want to obtain more information from the Iranian ambassador,” parliament chair Freya Van den Bossche and committee chair Bogdan Vanden Berghe said in a joint press release.
Djalali, a specialist in disaster medicine affiliated with the Free University of Brussels (VUB), was arrested in April 2016 during a work trip to Iran. The following year, he was sentenced to death on charges of espionage and complicity in the killing of two Iranian nuclear scientists.
Djalali suffered a heart attack earlier this year, while imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison. After the Israeli bombing of that prison, he was transferred with other prisoners to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary. From there, he was taken away separately. Since 23 June 2025, there has been no trace of him, and his whereabouts and health remain unknown.
Last week, the committee and parliament speaker Van den Bossche held talks with Djalali’s wife, Vida Mehrannia. Following that meeting, the committee unanimously agreed to summon the Iranian ambassador.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO LOU LAMPAERT
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