Attempts to overturn the death sentence of a professor in the Iranian courts have failed, according to the man’s lawyer.
Swedish resident Ahmadreza Djalali's sentence has been protested by a number of weighty organisations, including Amnesty International, the UN, and Sweden's Foreign Ministry.
A specialist in improving hospitals’ emergency responses to terrorism and different threats, Mr Djalali, 45, has been convicted of spying for Israel.
The father-of-two was arrested during a trip to Iran in April 2016. He was found guilty in October last year of passing information about Iranian nuclear scientists to the Mossad intelligence agency.
Both an initial appeal in December and a further request to have the sentence overturned has been denied, with his lawyer saying the sentence is now “definitive”.
"This time the sentence is definitive. It has been confirmed that the death penalty can be carried out, and it can happen at any time," he told Le Soir.
Mr Djalali, who is being held in Elvin prison, is believed to be suffering from a possible tumour but attempts to arrange for medical attention have so far been rejected.
Meanwhile, hopes that were raised in December for the release of British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe have been dashed with the young mother still in detention.
She is currently serving a five-year sentence over allegations of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe denies all accusations.
