Arrest of Iranian Citizen Residing in Sweden Confirmed Upon Return to Iran

The Iran Human Rights Campaign confirmed the arrest of Kamran Ghaderi, an Iranian citizen residing in Sweden, citing an 'informed source' who stated that the charges against him include 'propaganda against the regime, conspiracy and collusion to act against national security, and insulting the leader and officials of the Islamic Republic.' According to this source, whose identity has not been revealed, Ghaderi, who set out on foot from Sweden to Iran in April 2017 with the slogan 'March for the Freedom of Iran' and the flag of the lion and sun, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on March 7 of last year. After his arrest, he was initially transferred to the Intelligence Department and then to Tabriz Prison, where he was charged by the Tabriz Prosecutor's Office with 'propaganda against the regime, conspiracy and collusion to act against national security, and insulting the leader and officials of the Islamic Republic.' A relative of Mr. Ghaderi, whose identity has also not been disclosed, told the Iran Human Rights Campaign that this 48-year-old Iranian citizen migrated to Sweden at the age of 15 and has a Swedish wife and two children, but he has not taken steps to obtain Swedish citizenship. Kamran Ghaderi entered Iran from the Turkish border on February 18, 2018, after passing through 11 countries, and 'was arrested by border guards upon entering Iran due to the lion and sun flag and was released after a few days.' However, in March, he was arrested again, this time by the Ministry of Intelligence and sent to Tabriz Prison. He also mentioned in a phone call that he might be transferred to Tehran. According to the informed source, Mr. Ghaderi 'intended to continue his journey and raise the lion and sun flag at Pasargadae and the tomb of Cyrus, one of the ancient kings of Iran.' As this source informed the campaign, he 'regularly reported his journey on his Instagram and Twitter accounts and also gave several interviews with media opposing the Islamic Republic, which were used as evidence against him during the interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence as propaganda against the regime and actions against national security.' 'Walking from Sweden to Iran with the lion and sun flag for freedom, requesting free elections' is a description that this teacher wrote as his biography on Twitter. Mr. Ghaderi had also stated in an interview with Radio Farda on October 7, 2017, that 'his destination is the tomb of Cyrus and his goal is to request free elections.' At that time, he was in Kayseri, Turkey, and mentioned that he took his first step at the moment of the New Year 2018 and added that he intended to go towards Syria and Iraq and, if possible, enter Iran from there. In response to a question from a Radio Farda reporter about whether he thought entering Iran with the lion and sun flag would cause him problems, he said he would think about it if problems arose at that moment. According to the Iran Human Rights Campaign, in addition to Kamran Ghaderi, 'another 55-year-old dual Iranian-Austrian citizen with the same name is also imprisoned in Iran, sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage and held in Evin Prison in Tehran.' Iranian officials have a negative view of dual citizens and sometimes regard them as 'spies.' Baqer and Siamak Namazi (father and son) and Afrin Nissari and Karen Vafadari (husband and wife) are among the Iranian-American citizens, while Nazanin Zaghari and Kamal Faroughi are two Iranian-British citizens imprisoned in Iran. In November 2017, Reuters reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had arrested at least 30 dual Iranian citizens on charges such as espionage over the past two years. According to this report, while most of the detainees were previously Iranian-Americans, 19 of these 30 individuals hold European citizenships. Families and lawyers of these individuals have told Reuters that the Revolutionary Guard has used them as bargaining tools in international relations while simultaneously discouraging European companies interested in establishing trade in Iran from realizing their intentions. Iranian officials have previously denied extortion through the hostage-taking of these individuals and accuse Western governments of detaining Iranian citizens on baseless charges.