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ECPR is gravely concerned about the wellbeing of Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish scholar who was sentenced to death in Iran in 2017 based on allegations that he had provided intelligence to Israeli authorities.
Djalali has repeatedly denied these allegations, and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for his immediate release in 2017.
Djalali has held academic positions at, among others, ECPR Member institution Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He was arrested in April 2016 during a trip to Iran to participate in a series of academic workshops.
Djalali remains imprisoned and, despite sharply deteriorating health, which was intensified by five months spent in solitary confinement, continues to be denied access to appropriate medical care.
Our friends at the International Science Council (ISC) Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science (CFRS) work closely with Scholars at Risk (SAR) to monitor and advocate for Djalali.
On 9 December 2021, SAR will recognise Djalali with its prestigious Courage to Think Award for 2021 as part of the Free to Think symposium. Register here for this free, virtual event.
ECPR believes that academic freedom is a core principle that must be protected at all costs.
We, therefore, call upon the scholarly community to stand together against this shocking case of mistreatment and infringement of academic freedom and advocate for Ahmadreza Djalali’s immediate release.
We would like to formally introduce our newly formed Working Group on Academic Freedom, established by the ECPR Executive Committee to implement a discussion on protecting the academic freedom of scholars in political science and international relations. Find out more.