Swedish EU official held hostage in Iran for over 500 days

Swedish EU official Johan Floderus has been imprisoned in Iran for over 500 days after travelling there to visit a friend who was employed at the Swedish Embassy in Tehran, the New York Times reported on Monday.

Swedish EU official Johan Floderus, 33, travelled to Iran as a tourist last spring. But in July last year, the Iranian government released a statement announcing that it had arrested a Swedish citizen on espionage charges and sent him to the notorious Evin prison in the Iranian capital. The New York Times revealed on Monday that it was indeed Floderus.

The charges against the Swedish diplomat relate to espionage. Still, experts say the arrest is likely part of a political game in which Iran seeks a prisoner exchange.

“This is a very worrying situation. In combination with the other Swedish citizen, Ahmadreza Djalali, who is imprisoned and sentenced to death, it suggests that Iran wants to use this to pressure the Swedish government,” said Maja Åberg, an expert at Amnesty International.

“It is remarkable that nothing has happened so far,” she said, adding, “it seems that Iran is using these detainees as hostages and pawns in a game to get other countries to do what they want”.

Last year, Iranian citizen Hamid Noury was sentenced to life imprisonment in Sweden for murder and international crimes committed in Iran in the 1980s. While the case is still in the appeals phase, Tehran wants to bring Noury home through a prisoner exchange, which it has done before with other countries.

In a statement to Swedish media, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he had been in contact with the Iranian authorities.

“The government has worked and is working very intensively on the case. The person in question has been arbitrarily arrested and should be released immediately. This has also been stated, including by me. Otherwise, I cannot go into details,” Billström said in a written statement.

Floderus worked in the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) and previously worked closely with Swedish Commissioner Ylva Johansson.

Peter Stano, spokesman for the EU’s External Action Service, told Swedish media that they were following the case and were in close contact with the Swedish authorities.

“This case must also be seen in the context of the growing number of arbitrary arrests of EU citizens,” Stano said.

(Charles Szumski | EURACTIV.com)