Habib Chaab disappeared under mysterious circumstances in Turkey in 2020. In Iran, he has been accused of terrorist crimes, and due to the criminal classifications, it was basically already clear what the verdict would be before it was handed down, according to Maja Åberg.
— But no one has been able to know when the verdict would come.
Calls on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act
Amnesty has worked with and followed Chaab’s case over the years since his arrest. Now the organization will try to draw attention to it in various ways, and put pressure on the Iranian authorities.
“It is extremely worrying and the verdict means that there are now two Swedish citizens sitting in Iran, sentenced to death,” says Maja Åberg, referring to the doctor and researcher Ahmadreza Djalali, who is accused of collaborating with the Israeli spy service.
— Amnesty urges the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do what it can, and preferably in cooperation with other EU countries that also have citizens imprisoned in Iran.
Little legal certainty in Iran
There is very little legal certainty in Iran’s legal system, underlines Åberg. When it comes to the trials that lead to the death penalty, the risk is very high that you will not get a fair trial.
— We see that so-called confessions that have been forced under torture are used during trials, and it is very common for people to be tortured. It is also common for people not to have access to a lawyer or the lawyer they have chosen themselves, she says.
In Iran, at least 94 people have been executed during January and February this year, according to Amnesty.