EU diplomat Johan Floderus freed as Sweden and Iran swap prisoners
Johan Floderus
Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement on Saturday (Jun 15) that a European Union diplomat and a secondSwede, held in captivity in Iran, have been freed and are on their way home.
In a prisoner swap, Iran and Sweden saw a former Iranian official Hamid Noury jailed in Sweden freed. Meanwhile, Tehranreleased Swedish citizens Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi.
Floderus was arrested in Iran in 2022 and charged with spying for Israel and "corruption on earth", a crime that carries the death penalty. The Swedish government and his family dismissed the charges, saying that the allegations were fabricated. While the Swedish-Iranian dual national Azizi was arrested in Iran in November 2023.
Noury was given a life sentence in Sweden for his involvement in the deaths of thousands of political prisoners while serving as the deputy prosecutor at the Gohardasht prison outside of Tehran.
Kristersson posted a video on X, saying, "Iran has made these Swedes pawns in a cynical negotiation game with the aim of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Noury released from Sweden."
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The Swedish prime minister said, "It has been clear all along that this operation would require difficult decisions."
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, said, "Delighted at the news that our Swedish colleague Johan Floderus and his compatriot Saeed Azizi have been released from unjustified Iranian custody."
"I wish them a good reunion with their loved ones. Congratulations to Sweden for its persistent work to achieve this outcome," she added.
Meanwhile, another Swedish-Iranian dual national, Ahmadreza Djalali, remains in an Iranian jail. An emergency medicine doctor, Djalali was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.
(With inputs from agencies)