TEHRAN: Iran’s judiciary has officially confirmed the detention of a Swedish national, Johan Floderus, and asserted that he had “committed crimes” within the Islamic Republic’s territory, according to judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi.
Floderus, a 33-year-old Swedish diplomat working for the European Union, has been held in Iran for more than 500 days. EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell had been advocating tirelessly for Floderus’s release.
Setayeshi, in his statement, confirmed that Floderus had been incarcerated “with a legal order” and mentioned that the investigation into his case was nearing completion. The case is expected to be forwarded to the relevant court “in the coming days.”
Sweden Asks Iran to Release Johan Floderus
Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding to the confirmation of Floderus’s detention, reiterated its call for his immediate release. The ministry’s press office emphasized that Johan Floderus was “arbitrarily detained” and urged Iranian authorities to release him promptly.
This incident traces back to July of the previous year when Iran announced the arrest of a Swedish citizen on suspicion of espionage. The announcement coincided with the sentencing of an Iranian, Hamid Noury, to life imprisonment in Sweden for his involvement in the killings of prisoners in Iran during the 1980s. Noury was found guilty by a Stockholm court of “aggravated crimes against international law” and “murder.”
Setayeshi also mentioned that the cases of two French nationals, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who are in custody on espionage charges, have already been referred to court for trial. They were arrested in May 2022, accused of attempting to incite labor unrest during industrial action by teachers.
In a separate development earlier this year, Belgian humanitarian worker Olivier Vandecasteele, 42, was released after spending 15 months in Iranian custody on espionage charges. His release was part of an exchange involving Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who had been sentenced to 20 years for his involvement in plotting to bomb an opposition rally in Paris.
