The Case of Johan Flodros, Imprisoned Swedish Diplomat, Sent to Court

Masoud Setayesh, the spokesperson for the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, stated on Wednesday, November 8, about the latest status of the case of a Swedish diplomat imprisoned in Iran: "The case has resulted in an indictment and has been sent to the competent court." This comes as the last day of the retrial of Hamid Nouri was held in Sweden on the same day. He had previously been tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in Sweden for his involvement in the executions of the 1980s. The judiciary spokesperson had mentioned on September 12 of this year, without naming Johan Flodros, that his case would be sent to court "by the final decision of the prosecutor's office." He added that this Swedish national had "committed crimes on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, for which preliminary investigations have been conducted, and he has been sent to prison under legal provisions." However, Masoud Setayesh did not refer to the charges against this Swedish citizen. Additionally, see: Amnesty International calls for the release of Johan Flodros, the Swedish diplomat of the European Union, in Iran. Johan Flodros, an employee of the Swedish diplomatic apparatus in the European Union, was arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic on April 17 of this year. The news of his arrest was not announced for months until Sweden announced in mid-September that Mr. Flodros had been detained. Following the news of Flodros's arrest in Iran, speculations intensified regarding the possibility of the Islamic Republic using this Swedish prisoner to exert pressure on Stockholm or to exchange him for Hamid Nouri. Human rights defenders say the Islamic Republic uses the detention of foreign and dual nationals for "extortion" from Western countries; however, Iranian officials deny this accusation. Meanwhile, Laleh Bazargan, who lost her brother in the 1988 executions, wrote on Wednesday on the messaging platform X, referring to the last day of Hamid Nouri's retrial in Sweden, that his defense lawyers in court have "reflected the propaganda of the Islamic Republic regime and their lies" and "insist that this committee that killed our loved ones was the amnesty committee." Ms. Bazargan pointed out: "The amnesty committee in the Islamic Republic executes thousands because the Islamic Republic is inherently bloodthirsty and criminal, and the amnesty committee there is the same as the death committee." Hamid Nouri, who was "formerly known as Hamid Abasi, a former deputy prosecutor in the judiciary of the Islamic Republic," was arrested in November 2019 by a court order in Sweden. On July 13, 2022, after 93 sessions of hearings in the Stockholm District Court, he was sentenced to "life imprisonment" and ordered to pay compensation to the families of the executed. Additionally, see: The Islamic Republic requested the extradition of "Hamid Nouri" from Sweden in New York. This ruling faced objections from Hamid Nouri, his family, and the Islamic Republic. This was while Michelle Bachelet, the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed satisfaction with this ruling and stated: "Countries should use universal jurisdiction to fill the accountability gap for serious crimes and ensure truth and justice." A joint campaign by Alireza Akhundi and the organization "Alliance Against a Nuclear Iran; Stop Dealing with the IRGC" confirmed the arrest of the Swedish citizen in Iran. The European Union expressed serious concern about the situation of the imprisoned Swedish diplomat in Iran. The family of the imprisoned Swedish diplomat in Iran demanded his immediate release. Hanna Neumann called for clarification from the European Union regarding the "concealment" of the arrest of the Swedish citizen. Josep Borrell confirmed; "The detained Swedish citizen in Iran has a history of working in the European Union."