A group of 21 former detainees freed from Iran appealed on Wednesday to the Swedish government to help secure the release a Swedish-Iranian physician who has been held on death row in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the group said that Dr Ahmadreza Djalali has recently suffered a heart attack and his condition has declined after what it called years of "medical neglect and psychological torment".
"No more empty statements. Sweden must act with the same urgency and resolve it has shown in securing the freedom of other citizens," the group wrote, adding that treating Dr Djalali as a "second-class" citizen would be "a profound moral failure".
Dr Djalali is a physician and researcher in disaster medicine. He was detained in 2016 while visiting Iran, charged with espionage and treason, and later sentenced to death. He is a father of two.
One of the letter's signatories, Siamak Namazi, a businessman with dual US-Iranian citizenship, was held in Evan prison for nearly eight years before he was released in 2023.
Mr Namazi's release, together with three other Americans, came after he had personally pleaded with then-president Joe Biden.
“I was in the same ward with him [Dr Djalali] and was very good friends with him. I've spent extensive periods of time with them, talking to him, and it's a really sad case," he told The National.
“I was left behind several times but I was not on death row. It's horrifying.”
Last week, in a lengthy post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi implied that the detention was linked to Tehran’s lack of access to a Swedish-made treatment for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare skin disease that affects hundreds of Iranian children.
Mr Araghchi said access to the medication had long been blocked due to "overcompliance with sanctions" on Iran.
"Astonishingly, Swedish authorities also decided to grant citizenship to a convicted criminal after his sentencing for serious violations: an Iranian national with ties to Sweden so strong that he barely speaks some word of Swedish," Mr Araghchi wrote in a seeming reference to Dr Djalili.
Mr Namazi said that when he saw Mr Araghchi’s post, he thought: “Let's undo two humanitarian wrongs in one fell swoop.”
The group of former detainees say Mr Araghchi's comments offer "a rare opportunity for dual humanitarian action", resolving an issue related to the sanctions regime and ending the unjust imprisonment of a Swedish citizen.
"Let us be clear: we unequivocally condemn hostage diplomacy and have consistently called for international measures to deter it," the group wrote in the letter. "But governments also have a moral obligation to rescue their innocent citizens from foreign prisons – even when doing so requires difficult but principled negotiations."
The letter comes as US President Donald Trump is touring the Gulf in hopes of securing foreign investments in the US and forging peace agreements in global conflicts.
In a speech from Riyadh on Tuesday, Mr Trump blamed Iran for instability in the Middle East, and warned that he would inflict "massive maximum pressure" if it continues to attack its neighbours and support terrorism.
His comments came amid talks between Washington and Tehran over a new deal that would put limits on Iran's nuclear programme. Iran described the latest round of talks in Oman as "difficult but useful". The US, meanwhile, has continued to hit Iran with more sanctions.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
