Judicial Official of the Islamic Republic: Details of Prisoner Exchange Will Be Announced Upon Full Implementation of Agreements

The Secretary of the Islamic Republic's Human Rights Headquarters announced regarding the prisoner exchange between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic that "details and the number of prisoners to be released will be communicated soon and upon full implementation of the reached agreements." In August of this year, in a significant development "toward the freedom" of five American dual citizens imprisoned in the Islamic Republic's prisons, they were transferred to house arrest "in a hotel in Tehran," which seems to be "a step forward" in the "hostage exchange agreement" between the United States and Iran. This was the first step of an agreement under which $6 billion of Iran's blocked assets in South Korea would be released in exchange for allowing these five American citizens to leave Iran. Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy for International Affairs of the Judiciary, denied in an interview with the "Al-Alam" news network the connection between the release of Iran's blocked financial resources in South Korea and the freedom of dual citizens imprisoned in Iran, stating: "Iran's financial resources in this country were taken hostage, and this has nothing to do with the prisoners." This claim comes despite a history showing that over the past few decades, the release of dual or foreign prisoners in Iran has often coincided with the receipt of financial resources. The release of several Iranian-American prisoners, including Jason Rezaian during the "JCPOA" agreement, or the release of Nazanin Zaghari and Anousheh Ashouri, two Iranian-British prisoners after receiving several million pounds from the UK, are just a few examples of such occurrences. Jason Rezaian was arrested in August 2014 on charges of "espionage," and in July 2015, the final agreement in nuclear negotiations was reached; Rezaian was released after 18 months of imprisonment on January 16, 2016, precisely on the night the "JCPOA" was implemented, along with Amir Hekmati, another Iranian-American, in a controversial exchange. Last June, Amnesty International stated, referencing the arrest of Nazanin Zaghari and her release in March 2022 "in exchange for the payment of £393.8 million by the UK," that "Iranian officials committed the crime of hostage-taking" by detaining Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in relation to their long-standing dispute with the UK over debt, and "this crime should not go unpunished." Gharibabadi also referred to the case of Hamid Noury, who was tried in Sweden for his involvement in the executions of the 1980s and sentenced to a long prison term, stating: "The Islamic Republic believes that Mr. Noury was wrongfully arrested in Sweden and that he committed no crime." This judiciary official threatened the Swedish judiciary while referring to the ongoing appeals process in Noury's case, saying: "We hope that the Swedish judiciary will ultimately take a correct position and decision, and in this regard, we are not without options and will utilize our capacities for appropriate actions." These remarks were made following the recent news of the arrest of a Swedish citizen by the Islamic Republic, who has a history of cooperation with the European Union. Following this news, speculation has intensified regarding the possibility of the Islamic Republic using this Swedish prisoner to exert pressure on Sweden or to exchange him for Noury, although Iranian officials have consistently denied such cases. Human rights defenders say that the Islamic Republic uses the detention of foreign and dual citizens for "extortion" from Western countries.