Detention of Johan Floderus

Last updated

Johan Floderus
Born (1990-09-10) 10 September 1990 (age 33) [1] [2] [3]
Kungälv, Sweden [3]
NationalitySwedish
Occupations
Known for
  • European Union diplomat
  • prisoner of Iran

Johan Floderus (born 10 September 1990) [1] [2] [3] is a Swedish diplomat and European Union official. He first started working for the European Commission in 2019, serving as an aide to the then-incumbent European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, before joining the European External Action Service two years later. [4] [5]

Contents

On 4 September 2023, a New York Times report revealed that Floderus had been arrested by Iranian authorities at the international airport in Tehran in April 2022, while visiting the country on holiday, and had reportedly been detained at the Evin Prison ever since. [4] [5] [6] EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed the news the following day. [7] [8]

On 10 September, Floderus's family officially started a public campaign, named #FreeJohanFloderus, in support of his liberation. [1] [2] [9] On 10 December, he was officially charged with "extensive measures against the security of the country, extensive intelligence cooperation with the Zionist regime and corruption on Earth" by Iranian authorities. [10] [11] [12]

On 15 June 2024, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson publicly announced that Floderus had been released from Iranian authorities, together with fellow Swedish prisoner Saeed Azizi, as part of a prisoner exchange deal that saw convicted war criminal Hamid Nouri return to Iran. [13] [14]

Background

Detention of foreign citizens in Iranian prisons

Since its creation in 1979, the Government of Iran has repeatedly arrested and detained foreign people, either from European countries or the United States, to get various types of concessions from their respective institutions. [15] The first significant instance of this series of incidents was the Iran hostage crisis, which saw fifty-two American diplomats and citizens being held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for 444 days, from 4 November 1979, to their release on 20 January 1981. [16] [17]

Tensions between Iran and Western countries started rising again since 2018, following the Trump administration's decision to announce the United States withdrawal from the JCPOA, an agreement that had been originally reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (together with the European Union) to limit the Iranian nuclear program, with the country receiving relief from international nuclear-related sanctions in return for their commitments to the deal. [15] [18] Following the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States, negotiations between American and Iranian representatives about a new deal took place, but they all proved to be unsuccessful as of 2023. [15] [19] Moreover, the election of conservative leader Ebrahim Raisi as President of Iran (succeeding to moderate Hassan Rouhani) in the summer of 2021 has been cited as another factor that fueled reciprocal mistrust between his administration and Western institutions. [15]

Between 2022 and 2023, several foreign citizens, some of whom were dual Iranian nationals, were arrested and imprisoned by Iranian authorities on reportedly spurious charges, [4] [15] often involving espionage allegations; [15] [20] this series of arrests followed a similar trend from the previous years, mainly targeting Iranians with dual nationality or foreign permanent residency who had returned to the country due to business or personal reasons. [15] [21] According to some analysts, who described the aforementioned detentions as "hostage diplomacy", [4] [20] [22] the Iranian regime could seek to trade imprisoned foreign citizens for Iranians held in European countries or the United States, or to use them as leverage in exchange for economic compensations and other types of concessions. [4] [15] [20] An example in support of this thesis is the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British dual citizen who was detained in Iran since 2016, and then got released in March 2022, in exchange for the UK's settling of a longstanding debt with Iran. [15] [23] Moreover, in August 2023, roughly one month before the first reports on the detention of Floderus surfaced, the United States had agreed to repay $6 billion in withheld Iranian oil revenues and release several Iranian prisoners in America, to free five American citizens held in Iranian prisons. [4] [20]

Iran-Sweden relations

In the years prior to the arrest of Floderus, relations between Iran and Sweden progressively deteriorated due to disputes and diplomatic incidents involving their respective citizens. [4] [24] [25]

In April 2016, Ahmad Reza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish doctor and researcher in disaster medicine, was arrested and charged with spying on Iranian's nuclear program for Israel, accusations he denied, [26] [27] before being taken to the Evin Prison, where he reportedly faced repeated tortures and threats. [26] In October 2017, Djalali was convicted of "spreading corruption on earth" and sentenced to death: [26] [27] multiple reports about the time of his execution have surfaced ever since. [4] [15]

The trial of Hamid Nouri in 2019 is believed to be one of the key events that contributed to the steady deterioration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Sweden. Hamid Noury at the Swedish court of law.jpg
The trial of Hamid Nouri in 2019 is believed to be one of the key events that contributed to the steady deterioration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Sweden.

In November 2019, Swedish police arrested Hamid Nouri, [28] a former senior Iranian judicial official, [4] at the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm; [28] [29] he was accused of committing severe war crimes and more than 100 murders during the Iran-Iraq War, as well as the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, [7] [29] in which future President of Iran Raisi had also been involved directly. [29] [30] The trial of Nouri took place under the principle of universal jurisdiction, [4] [29] and he was eventually found guilty of the aforementioned war crimes in July 2022, being sentenced to life in prison as a result; [4] [5] [6] Nouri decided to appeal the verdict, [4] [31] but his request was rejected by the Svea Court of Appeal, [32] and his life sentence was ultimately confirmed in December 2023. [32] [33] [34] In the months prior to the final decision, Iranian authorities had reportedly tried to put pressure on the Swedish government to get a more favorable treatment for Nouri; [5] [35] moreover, as indicated by various Swedish and international media, the arrests of Swedish citizens in Iran [7] [35] and the threats to execute Ahmad Reza Djalali were seen as acts of retaliation for the Iranian official's trial. [25] [30]

Habib Chaab, an Iranian political activist who had founded and led the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, [24] [36] before going on exile to Sweden in 2006, [37] was kidnapped in Turkey in October 2020 and smuggled to Iran; [36] [37] there, he was accused of masterminding the 2018 Ahvaz military parade attack, which left 25 people killed. [24] [38] He was sentenced to death and executed in May 2023, [4] [24] [38] having been found guilty of the mofsed-e-filarz capital crime. [15] Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billström, together with EU, publicly condemned Chaab's execution. [24]

Biography

Early life and education

Johan Floderus was born in Kungälv, Sweden to Matts and Kerstin Floderus. [3] [22] He has an older sister, Ingrid. [39] [40]

Floderus first got interested in Iranian culture as a child, having grown fond of his neighbors, who were Iranian immigrants and whose son was Floderus' best friend at the time. [22] While completing his military service, Floderus was accepted onto an interpreter course where he was assigned to learn the Dari dialect; [22] following his discharge from the Armed Forces, he studied Persian for a semester in Tehran, [22] [41] before pursuing a PPE degree at Harris Manchester College, Oxford; [3] [42] he then completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Uppsala. [41]

Diplomatic career in the EU

In 2015, he relocated to Brussels, Belgium, [43] in order to take part in the European Union's civil service training program: [4] he first served as a trainee at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU, and then started working on development aid in 2016, as part of the European Commission's Blue Book traineeship. [43] Later the same year, Floderus left Brussels to pursue a Master's degree in Development Economics at the SOAS University of London, before returning to the Belgian capital in September 2017, when he started working as an International Aid and Cooperation Officer at the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships. [43] Around the same period of time, he also collaborated with the Swedish Council for Higher Education, being featured in a Facebook advertising campaign aimed to young Swedish graduates who wanted to pursue professional careers within EU institutions. [4] [5]

Starting in 2018, Floderus was involved in EU humanitarian missions in Iran, [22] taking part in projects that provided health and education services to Afghan refugees in the country. [1] [41] In December 2019, Floderus started working for the European Commission, [43] serving as an aide to the then-incumbent European Commissioner for Home Affairs, fellow Swedish politician Ylva Johansson; [4] [5] [20] he then joined the European External Action Service (EEAS), the diplomatic corps of the EU, in September 2021, [43] being subsequently assigned to their Afghanistan delegation. [4] [5] [20] The diplomat was originally set to travel to Kabul on official EEAS duty: however, the mission was cancelled in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover in August 2021, and he continued working from the institution's headquarters in Brussels. [4] [20]

Prior to his arrest in April 2022, Floderus had already visited Iran at least seven times, [41] all of which without incident; [4] [6] several of those visits were made on diplomatic and humanitarian business for the EU. [7] [41]

Detention in Iran

Arrest and first reports under undisclosed identity

The Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, where Floderus was reportedly arrested by Iranian authorities on 17 April 2022. Tehran IKIA at Night.jpg
The Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, where Floderus was reportedly arrested by Iranian authorities on 17 April 2022.

In April 2022, Floderus visited Iran once more, this time while on a week-long holiday, [22] in order to visit a friend who worked at the Swedish Embassy in Tehran. [41] [44] On 17 April, [4] [20] as he prepared to leave the capital from Imam Khomeini International Airport, Floderus was arrested and reportedly taken to the Evin Prison. [4] [5] [6]

About a month later, Swedish authorities announced that a Swedish man "in his thirties" had been arrested in Iran, although his identity was kept undisclosed. [20] [25] [35] Aftonbladet noted that, around the same period, the national Ministry for Foreign Affairs had advised Swedish citizens to avoid non-essential travels to Iran, since an increasing number of cases had been registered within the country where "numerous European citizens [had] been deprived of [their] freedom without any apparent reason". [35] The following month, the Swedish government advised its citizens against travelling to Iran. [45]

In July 2022, the Iranian government released an official statement confirming the arrest of a Swedish national on espionage charges. [4] [7] [8] According to the Iranian Ministry of Information, [25] [46] the apprehended person had already visited the country multiple times, [4] [25] and was "under constant monitoring from [national] intelligence agencies". [25] In the same report, the Ministry accused the detainee of being in contact with other foreign and Iranian citizens who had previously been suspected of spying, as well as visiting Israel before their travel to Iran. [20] [25] [46]

In May 2023, Swedish TV channel TV4 broadcast a three-part episode of investigative documentary series Kalla fakta, which revealed that a high-ranking, Swedish civil servant working for an international organization had been detained in Iran, which then requested a prisoner exchange deal for Hamid Noury. The identity of the imprisoned diplomat, who was believed to be Johan Floderus, was kept undisclosed at the request of his parents. [47]

In June 2023, Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who had just been released in a prisoner swap between Belgium and Iran (following 455 days in detention for alleged spying), [4] [48] shared his testimony at a concert held in his honor in Brussels. [48] [49] During the public event, he reportedly referred to a Swedish man (who was later believed to be Floderus) he met as a cell-mate during their time at the Evin Prison, [4] [5] [6] saying quote, "We became like brothers: we promised each other that we would do everything for each other and whoever came out first would help each other’s family and loved ones". [4] [6]

TheNew York Times report and aftermath

On 4 September 2023, an exclusive report on Floderus' diplomatic career and detention was published on The New York Times , making such information public for the first time since his arrest in April 2022. [4] [5] [7] All of the anonymous witnesses contacted by the American newspaper denied the espionage allegations Floderus had been charged with. [4] The diplomat's family subsequently confirmed the news through an official press statement sent to Swedish media, [4] [50] thanking the people who were "working hard to free [Johan]" and hoping he could "come back home immediately". [6] [44] [46]

The New York Times noted that Floderus's case was peculiar due to his professional background, [1] which made him a high-value prisoner, [5] which could have an impact on diplomatic relations between Iran and Sweden. [1] On the other hand, as reported by POLITICO, whilst Floderus was still affiliated with the EEAS and received unofficial support from his colleagues, the responsibility for diplomatic negotiations was delegated to Swedish consular services, since he was in Iran for personal reasons, rather than on an official visit, at the time of his arrest. [22]

At first, both the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the European Commission declined to reveal the identity of the Swedish citizen detained in Iran. [4] [51] However, the day after the original New York Times report had been published, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, confirmed that the aforementioned person was Floderus himself: speaking from Cádiz, Spain, where he was attending a meeting on development, Borrell told reporters that European authorities were working "relentlessly" to free the Swedish man. [7] [8] [52]

Thomas Kjems, a Danish travel vlogger who had been arrested in October 2022 during the Mahsa Amini protests, before being freed in a prisoner swap in June 2023, [44] [53] said he had spent eight months with Floderus at the Evin Prison in an interview for SVT, noting that the diplomat had seemed "in physically and mentally good shape" when he had last seen him. [7] [44]

The European Commission's decision to keep the case of Floderus secret faced criticism from some European Parliament deputies, [4] including the chairwoman of the Parliament's Iran delegation, Cornelia Ernst, [4] as well as Iraqi-Swedish politician Abir Al-Sahlani. [54] Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, also questioned the handling of the case by Sweden and the EU, saying that the arrest of Floderus was "a real escalation" and that "in [their] family's experience, publicity keeps hostages safe, because it limits the abuse that gets done to them." [4]

Public announcement and #FreeJohanFloderus campaign

The Evin Prison in Tehran, where Floderus is detained together with other foreign hostages. EvinHouseofDetention.jpg
The Evin Prison in Tehran, where Floderus is detained together with other foreign hostages.

On 10 September 2023, Floderus' 33rd birthday, the diplomat's family officially launched a public campaign, named #FreeJohanFloderus, in support of his liberation from the Evin Prison. [1] [2] [9]

In an official statement announcing the start of the campaign, Floderus' family revealed new details about his incarceration. According to the press release, the Swedish diplomat had been denied any kind of contact with his family during his first ten months in prison, while also receiving limited consular visits from the Swedish Embassy in Tehran. [1] [9] [2] The conditions under which he was incarcerated were considered to be in violation of the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners: [2] [9] reportedly, among other aspects, he had been detained in solitary confinement for over 300 days and, more generally, held in a constantly fully-lit cell; he had been denied of "basic human rights", including minimum food and medical support; he had been permitted only three-and-a-half hours of exposure to fresh air and sunlight per week; he had been significantly restricted in receiving letters and books, or sending correspondence. [1] [2] [41] The family also stated that Floderus had finally been allowed to make phone calls to his family once a month since February 2023, and that he had chosen to go on hunger strike in order to raise their frequency, although the calls had to be held in English and had been subject to monitoring. [1] [2] [9] On 7 August 2023, the diplomat had been granted his first video call with his family, [1] [2] where he had reportedly made "a desperate plea", asking to raise efforts to free him and allow him to return home. [2] [9]

Official charges and trial in Iran

In an interview for The Guardian in December 2023, Floderus' father, Matts, revealed that the family was set to receive updates from EU officials on a court hearing that would officially establish Iran's charges against the diplomat, stating his son was experiencing "levels of hell". Matts Floderus also said that the family initially did not speak out against Johan's detention in order to "give the other side a chance to say it was all a mistake and give them a chance to just let [him] go without losing face", while admitting that the decision to make a public denounce made "things [work] a little better". [41]

On 10 December, Iranian news agency Mizan Online reported that Floderus had been officially accused of "extensive measures against the security of the country, extensive intelligence cooperation with the Zionist regime and corruption on Earth", [10] [11] with the latter crime potentially carrying a death penalty. [10] [12] Mizan also published several new photos of Floderus appearing before judges as the charges were read, [10] [22] where he could be seen wearing grey prison fatigues. [22] The news drew further criticism from Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billström, [10] [11] as well as the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell. [10]

On 1 February 2024, the #FreeJohanFloderus campaign organized a special event at the BOZAR in Brussels, asking for the release of the Swedish diplomat. [39] [55] The event was co-hosted by Floderus's sister, Ingrid, [39] [40] and was attended, among others, by former Iran prisoners Bernard Phelan, [40] who had been detained in Iran from October 2022 to May 2023, [56] [57] and Olivier Vandecasteele, who confirmed he had shared a cell with Floderus for three weeks at the Evin Prison during his own detention. [22] [55] In the same period of time, posters of Floderus were hung on public buildings in his hometown of Kungälv, in support of the campaign for his liberation. [22]

On 17 April of the same year, which marked the second anniversary of the diplomat's arrest and detention, his family, friends and colleagues hosted a 12-hour vigil at the Gare Europe in Brussels as part of the #FreeJohanFloderus campaign. [22] [58]

Release from prison

On 15 June 2024, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson publicly announced that Floderus had been released from Iranian authorities, together with Iranian-Swedish dual citizen and fellow prisoner Saeed Azizi, while confirming that the two were set to return to Sweden in the following days. [13] [14] [59] In his speech, Kristersson stated that Swedish and Iranian diplomatic forces had agreed on a prisoner exchange deal that included the liberation of Hamid Nouri, who was serving a life sentence in Sweden for severe war crimes and mass murder during the Iran-Iraq War. [13] [60] Israeli portal Walla! reported that Oman had served as a mediator in diplomatic negotiations between Sweden and Iran. [60]

The announcement of the two men's release from prison was welcomed by several EU officials, including the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, who Floderus had previously worked for, [14] [59] the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, [59] and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. [60]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evin Prison</span> Prison in Iran

Evin Prison is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for the housing of Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "Evin University" due to the high number of students and intellectuals detained there. Evin Prison has been accused of committing "serious human rights abuses" against its political dissidents and critics of the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdollah Nouri</span> Iranian cleric and politician

Abdollah Noori is an Iranian cleric and reformist politician. Despite his "long history of service to the Islamic Republic," he became the most senior Islamic politician to be sentenced to prison since the Iranian Revolution, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for political and religious dissent in 1999. He has been called the "bête noire" of Islamic conservatives in Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asadollah Lajevardi</span> Iranian prison warden (1935–1998)

Sayyid Assadollah Ladjevardi was an Iranian conservative politician, prosecutor and warden. He was one of the officials responsible for the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, and was assassinated by the People's Mujahedin of Iran on 23 August 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdolfattah Soltani</span> Iranian human rights defender

Abdolfattah Soltani is an Iranian human rights lawyer and spokesman for the Defenders of Human Rights Center. He co-founded the group with Mohammad Seifzadeh and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi. Along with Ebadi, Soltani served as a lawyer for the family of slain Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was allegedly tortured and murdered in Evin Prison in July 2003. Ebadi and Soltani, along with others, also represented jailed journalist Akbar Ganji during his imprisonment and long hunger strike. Soltani, who won the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, in 2009, served time in prison in 2005 and 2009, and was sentenced to 18-year prison sentence in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners</span> Government-led mass execution of political prisoners in Iran

Starting on 19 July 1988 and continuing for approximately five months, a series of mass executions of political prisoners ordered by Ayatollah Khomeini and carried out by Iranian officials took place across Iran. Many prisoners were also tortured. The killings took place in at least 32 cities across the country. The killings were perpetrated without any legislative basis and trials were not concerned with establishing the guilt or innocence of defendants. Great care was taken to conceal the killings, and the government of Iran currently denies their occurrence.

White torture, often referred to as white room torture, is a type of psychological torture technique aimed at complete sensory deprivation and isolation. A prisoner is held in a cell that deprives them of all senses and identity. It is particularly used in Iran; however, there is also evidence of its use by Venezuelan and United States intelligence services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Iran poll protests trial</span>

2009 Iran poll protests trial refers to a series of trials conducted after 2009 Iranian presidential election. Over 140 defendants, including prominent politicians, academics and writers, were put on trial for participating in the 2009 Iranian election protests. The defendants were accused of orchestrating "colour revolution" in Iran, and "exposing cases of violations of human rights." The trials were widely condemned by world leaders both in Iran and worldwide as a "show trial" with coerced confessions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasrin Sotoudeh</span> Human rights female lawyer in Iran

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists and politicians following the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential elections and prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were minors. Her clients have included journalist Isa Saharkhiz, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and Heshmat Tabarzadi. She has also represented women arrested for appearing in public without a hijab, which is a punishable offense in Iran. Nasrin Sotoudeh was the subject of Nasrin, a 2020 documentary filmed in secret in Iran about Sotoudeh's "ongoing battles for the rights of women, children and minorities." In 2021, she was named as of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World. She was released on a medical furlough in July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Sweden relations</span> Bilateral relations

Iran–Sweden relations are foreign relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narges Mohammadi</span> Iranian human rights activist (born 1972)

Narges Mohammadi is an Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate. She is the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. Mohammadi has been a vocal proponent of mass feminist civil disobedience against the hijab in Iran and a vocal critic of the hijab and chastity program of 2023. In May 2016, she was sentenced in Tehran to 16 years' imprisonment for establishing and running "a human rights movement that campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty." She was released in 2020 but sent back to prison in 2021, where she has since given reports of the abuse and solitary confinement of detained women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sattar Beheshti</span> Iranian blogger who died in custody of the Iranian Cyber Police unit

Seyyed Sattar Beheshti was an Iranian blogger who died under suspicious and unclear circumstances in early November 2012, several days after being arrested by the Iranian Cyber Police unit for criticizing the government of the Islamic Republic on Facebook, and after making a signed complaint of being tortured while in custody. His reported death has drawn international condemnation and led to the dismissal of the commander of Iran's cybercrimes police unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasra Nouri</span> Iranian Jurist and political activist

Kasra Nouri is an Iranian journalist and political activist. He was the CEO of "Majzooban-e noor" website, which covered news about the Dervish religious community, Nouri was last arrested with his family during 2018 Dervish protests and sentenced to 12 years in prison and 148 lashes.

Events in the year 2014 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ahmad Reza Djalali is an Iranian-Swedish disaster medicine doctor, lecturer, and researcher. He has worked in several universities in Europe, among which Karolinska University of Sweden, where he had also attended his PhD program, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale (Italy), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium). He also cooperated with universities in Iran and is in contact with universities worldwide.

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee or Golrokh Iraee is an Iranian writer, accountant, political prisoner and a human rights defender who advocates against the practice of stoning in Iran. As a religious prisoner of conscience she was represented by Vice Chair of the USCIRF Gayle Manchin.

Asadollah Asadi is a former diplomat of the Iranian embassy in Austria. He was found guilty in the Iranian diplomat terror plot trial.

On 27 November 2020, Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi and three other Iranian citizens were tried in Belgium, charged with plotting to bomb a 2018 rally of National Council of Resistance of Iran, a political wing of the exiled Iranian political party People's Mujahedin of Iran in France. The trial established that Assadi had smuggled explosives from Iran and was acting on instructions of high-ranking Iranian officials. The charges included "attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group." This is the first trial where a EU country charged an Iranian official for terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trial of Hamid Nouri</span> Swedish trial for murder and war crimes

The trial of Hamid Nouri, an Iranian official detained in 2019 in Sweden, took place in 2022. Nouri was found guilty of being a key figure in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, where according to different estimates between 2,800 to 30,000 Iranians were massacred. In early 2021 charges of murder and war crimes were filed against the former Iranian prosecutor, where Nouri was accused of "torture and inhuman treatment." The trial constituted the first time someone has been charged in relation to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. Nouri was charged with more than 100 murders and "a serious crime against international law", and was expected to provide evidence implicating Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran, at the time of the trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivier Vandecasteele</span> Belgian aid worker

Olivier Vandecasteele is a Belgian humanitarian worker who was arbitrarily arrested in Iran on 24 February 2022. Following a sham trial, he was sentenced to 28 years in December 2022, then sentenced to 40 years in prison in January 2023. Vandecasteele was kept hostage in Iran for 455 days and was released on 26 May 2023. His case is considered to be "a flagrant violation of international law."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Stevis-Gridneff, Matina (10 September 2023). "E.U. Official Held in Iran Prison in Brutal Conditions, Family Says" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Family Statement". #FreeJohanFloderus. 10 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Jörnmark Callstam, Dennis (3 November 2023). "Matts och Kerstins son är fängslad i Iran – sedan 565 dagar". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Stevis-Gridneff, Matina; Anderson, Christina; Erlanger, Steven; Pronczuk, Monika (4 September 2023). "Johan Floderus, E.U. Official From Sweden, Is Imprisoned in Iran" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "L'Iran tiene in carcere da più di un anno un diplomatico dell'Unione Europea". Il Post (in Italian). 4 September 2023. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Svensson, Olof (4 September 2023). "Svenske Johan, 33, fängslad i Iran i 500 dagar". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gritten, David (5 September 2023). "Johan Floderus: EU confirms official from Sweden detained in Iran". BBC News . Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 AFP (5 September 2023). "Borrell Confirms Swedish EU Diplomat Held In Iran". Barron's . Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gustafsson, Niklas (10 September 2023). "Fängslade Johan Floderus familj vädjar om hjälp". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Iran accuses Swedish EU diplomat of crime that carries the death penalty". The Guardian . Agence France-Presse. 10 December 2023. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Gustafsson, Niklas (11 December 2023). "Iran anklagar Floderus för att konspirera med Israel". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Il diplomatico svedese Johan Floderus, in carcere da più di un anno in Iran, è stato accusato di vari reati per cui rischia anche la pena di morte". Il Post (in Italian). 11 December 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 "È stato liberato Johan Floderus, diplomatico dell'Unione Europea che era detenuto in Iran dal 2022". Il Post (in Italian). 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 "Johan Floderus och Saeed Azizi på väg hem – utväxlas mot Hamid Noury". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "L'Iran ha parecchi occidentali nelle sue carceri". Il Post (in Italian). 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  16. ↑ Sahimi, Muhammad (3 November 2009). "The Hostage Crisis, 30 Years On". Frontline . PBS. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  17. ↑ "La "crisi degli ostaggi", 35 anni fa". Il Post (in Italian). 4 November 2014. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  18. ↑ Gambrell, Jon; Jenne, Philipp-Moritz (10 June 2023). "Iran pulls UN nuke cameras in possible 'fatal blow' to deal". Associated Press . Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Murphy, Francois (4 September 2023). "Iran expands stock of near-weapons grade uranium, IAEA reports no progress". Reuters . Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jacqué, Philippe; Hivert, Anne-Françoise (4 September 2023). "Un Suédois du service diplomatique européen emprisonné en Iran" . Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "Who are the dual nationals jailed in Iran?". BBC News . 17 August 2023. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Gavin, Gabriel; Duxbury, Charlie (17 April 2024). "Iran's imprisonment of EU diplomat reveals new era of hostage diplomacy". POLITICO . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  23. ↑ Dixon, Hayley (16 March 2022). "Liz Truss confirms £400m debt repaid to Iran, as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed" . The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Gambrell, Jon (6 May 2023). "Iran hangs Iranian-Swedish man over 2018 attack killing 25". Associated Press . Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hamadé, Kassem (30 July 2022). "Svensk gripen i Iran – anklagas för spioneri". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  26. 1 2 3 "Iran rejects Sweden's appeal over doctor sentenced to death". BBC News . 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  27. 1 2 Wintour, Patrick (2 December 2020). "Iran reprieves scientist facing execution for espionage". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Hamid Nouri: How Sweden arrested a suspected Iranian war criminal". BBC News . 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  29. 1 2 3 4 "Il processo in Svezia che riguarda anche il nuovo presidente iraniano". Il Post (in Italian). 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  30. 1 2 Berger, Miriam (19 May 2022). "Iran says it's reviewing request to delay Swedish doctor's execution". Washington Post . Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  31. ↑ "Krigsbrottslingen lockades till Sverige och dömdes" . Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 8 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  32. 1 2 "En Suède, la justice confirme la condamnation à perpétuité de l'ex-procureur iranien Hamid Nouri". Le Monde (in French). 19 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  33. ↑ Rühle, Alex (19 December 2023). "Iran und Schweden: Hamid Noury wegen Verbrechen gegen Menschlichkeit verurteilt". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  34. ↑ Noury, Riccardo (19 December 2023). "La svolta della Svezia, che condanna l'iraniano Hamid Nouri per esecuzioni di massa". Domani (in Italian). Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Svensson, Olof (5 May 2022). "Svensk man fängslad i Iran – kopplas till hotet om kidnappningar". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  36. 1 2 Crawford, Alex (17 December 2020). "Habib Chaab: Files show how Iranian dissident was kidnapped in Turkey after 'honeytrap by Iran'". Sky News . Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  37. 1 2 "Turkey arrests 11 over abduction of Iranian dissident". Al-Monitor . 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  38. 1 2 Spender, Tom (6 May 2023). "Habib Chaab: Iran executes Swedish-Iranian for alleged terrorism". BBC News . Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  39. 1 2 3 Jones, Mared Gwyn; Sanchez Alonso, Aida; McMahon, Méabh (2 February 2024). "Sister of EU diplomat captive in Iran calls for his release". euronews . Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  40. 1 2 3 O'Carroll, Lisa (9 February 2024). "Family of Swede imprisoned in Iran fear death penalty verdict is imminent". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 O'Carroll, Lisa (8 December 2023). "'Levels of hell': Father of Swedish EU diplomat calls for his release by Iran". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  42. ↑ "My HMC, Hilary term 2024" (PDF). www.hmc.ox.c.uk. Harris Manchester College. 8 March 2024. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 "About Johan". #FreeJohanFloderus. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  44. 1 2 3 4 Wikén, Johan; Hüll, Justina (4 September 2023). "Johan Floderus, 33, har suttit fängslad i Iran – i över 500 dagar". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  45. ↑ Nyheter, S. V. T.; Wikén, Erik (23 June 2022). "UD avråder från alla resor till Iran" [The Foreign Ministry advises against all travel to Iran]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Swedish Television. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  46. 1 2 3 Grunér, Josefin (4 September 2023). "Familjens oro för Johan, 32, som är fängslad i Iran: "Djupt förtvivlade"". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  47. ↑ "Kalla fakta: Fallet Noury". www.tv4play.se (in Swedish). TV4 . Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  48. 1 2 ""Belgique, je t'aime" : le premier discours d'Olivier Vandecasteele depuis son retour (photos et vidéo)". Le Soir (in French). 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  49. ↑ "Olivier Vandecasteele s'exprime pour la première fois en public depuis sa libération". VRT NWS (in French). VRT. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  50. ↑ "Svenska Johan Floderus fängslad i Iran i över 500 dagar" . Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 4 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  51. ↑ "Brussels won't confirm if Swede held prisoner in Iran is EU official". euronews . 4 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  52. ↑ "L'Alto rappresentante per gli affari esteri europei, Josep Borrell, ha confermato che un diplomatico dell'Unione Europea è detenuto da più di un anno in Iran". Il Post (in Italian). 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  53. ↑ Gol, Jiyar (13 July 2023). "Danish vlogger: 'My guilt over being traded in Iranian prisoner swap'". BBC News . Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  54. ↑ Svensson, Olof (4 September 2023). "Kravet: Utvisa iranska ambassadören om de inte släpper Johan, 33". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  55. 1 2 Chini, Maïthé (2 February 2024). "Vandecasteele pleads for release of Swedish EU employee detained in Iran". The Brussels Times . Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  56. ↑ Fox, Matt (13 May 2023). "Iran: Bernard Phelan pardoned and released from prison". BBC News . Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  57. ↑ Marlowe, Lara (29 May 2023). "Who is Bernard Phelan, the Irish-French national released from jail in Iran?". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  58. ↑ "Vigil Brussels". #FreeJohanFloderus. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  59. 1 2 3 O'Carroll, Lisa (15 June 2024). "Swedish EU diplomat Johan Floderus freed from Iranian jail in prisoner swap". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  60. 1 2 3 "Sweden frees convicted former Iranian official Hamid Noury in prisoner exchange deal". The Jerusalem Post . 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.