Swedish-Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Djalali has been out of contact with his family in Sweden since the widespread protests in Iran began. His wife, Vida Mehrannia, expresses deep concern for his health in Evin Prison. She hopes the unrest will lead to the regime's downfall and freedom for her husband.
Ahmadreza Djalali, a doctor and researcher affiliated with Karolinska Institutet, was arrested in Iran in 2016 while giving lectures on disaster medicine. In 2017, he was sentenced to death on charges of spying for Mossad, which he denies and which reports suggest were extracted under torture.
Djalali is held in Evin Prison on the outskirts of Tehran, from where he typically calls his family in Sweden. However, since the protests began on December 28, all contact has ceased. The protests started over economic woes but have escalated into nationwide demonstrations against the religious regime, the largest in years.
"We have no communication at all right now, and now the internet has been shut down too," Vida Mehrannia told Expressen. The last she heard from him was on New Year's Day, when his health was poor. "But now I don't know exactly how he is, which worries me enormously. It's awful," she added.
Human rights groups report over 500 people killed by security forces, with the toll possibly higher. Mehrannia worries for both her husband and the protesters. "I hope the EU governments unite and do something, because right now they stand alone," she said, hoping the unrest brings freedom to the people and Djalali.
