Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tuesday called on Iranian authorities to halt the execution of Ahmedreza Djalali and revoke his death sentence. Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian doctor and academic, is scheduled to be executed by May 21, 2022.

Though they are still considering Djalali’s request to postpone the execution, Iranian authorities announced that “the verdict is final, and the execution will be carried out.” In her statement, Throssell declared that the UN is “deeply alarmed” by Djalali’s planned execution. Additionally, Throssell stated:

Use of the death penalty for espionage offences is incompatible with international human rights law. Countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the ‘most serious crimes,’ which is interpreted as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing.

In April 2016, Djalali was arrested and charged with espionage while in Iran attending academic workshops on disaster medicine. He confessed to espionage, but his confession was allegedly coerced through torture. Additionally, Throssell stated that Djalali’s trial was not conducted in accordance with international standards. The execution of Djalali under these circumstances, Throssell declared, would “constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life.”