A Swedish diplomat could face the death penalty in Iran, where he is standing trial on accusations of spying for Israel.
As we previously reported, diplomat Johan Floderus has been in prison in the Iranian capital of Tehran for over 600 days without trial since his arrest in April of 2022 at Tehran International Airport as he was about to leave the country to return to Sweden.
On Saturday, December 9th, the trial for Floderus began, with the diplomat appearing in a Tehran court and being indicted for “widespread activities against national security [and] wide intelligence cooperation with the Zionist regime,” France 24 reports.
“The defendant has been active against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of gathering information for the benefit of the Zionist regime in the form of subversive projects,” the prosecutor told the court.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom condemned Iran’s actions, saying “There is no basis whatsoever for keeping Johan Floderus in detention, let alone bringing him to trial.”
Floderus, 33, had been working for the European Commission since 2019, serving as an aide to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and then later with the European External Action Service (EEAS).
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, who also heads the EEAS, demanded the release of Floderus and claimed “there are absolutely no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention.”
According to a report published by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet earlier this year, Floderus was not in Iran on diplomatic business but visiting the country with three friends on holiday to meet another friend who also works in the diplomatic sector.
The newspaper, along with the New York Times, believes that the arrest is likely part of a ploy by the Iranian Islamic regime to force a prisoner swap with Western countries.
A source told the Swedish paper that Iran had previously threatened to kidnap Swedish citizens after Iranian national Hamid Noury had been arrested on charges of genocide from his activities in an Iranian prison in the 1980s.
The trial of Noury ended in 2022 when he was found guilty of being involved in at least a hundred murders, primarily of political prisoners.
It is speculated that the Iranians have demanded a prisoner exchange following the arrest of Floredus in order to have Noury returned to Iran. Currently, Noury is serving a life sentence in Sweden.
Foreign Minister Tobias Billström has stated in the past that he and his ministry are working closely to have Floredus freed but have been reticent on any details. The same source that spoke to Aftonbladet also claimed the Swedish foreign minister had been presented with the demand for a prisoner exchange by his Iranian counterpart.
The case of Floderus also comes after two Iran-born brothers were convicted earlier this year in Sweden over spying allegations.
While the two were born in Iran, they are believed to have spied on behalf of the Russian government, with 42-year-old Petman Kia and 35-year-old Payam Kia having both worked in the Swedish security services and passed on and sold documents to Russian operatives.
