A European diplomat has been detained in Iran for more than a year. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in Cadiz, Spain, that the Swedish citizen had been “illegally detained” in Iran for more than 500 days. The European Union institutions, together with the Swedish government, campaigned at all levels for his release.
Borrell confirmed a report in the New York Times on Monday. According to Borrell, the diplomat is the Swede Johan Floderus, who works for the European External Action Service (EEAS) with headquarters in Brussels. According to EU information, Floderus was most recently a member of the Foreign Service team responsible for Afghanistan. He previously worked, among others, for the Swedish EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
Sweden calls for the release of the EU diplomat
The Swedish government had previously said it had been demanding the release of a citizen arrested in Iran since last year. She did not provide any information about his identity. According to its own information, Iran arrested a Swede in 2022 who was accused of “espionage”.
Critics accuse Iran of “hostage diplomacy.” There are currently more than a dozen Western citizens imprisoned in Iran, most of whom also have Iranian passports. This does not apply to the Swede. According to the New York Times, the 33-year-old was arrested on a private trip to Iran.
Relations between Sweden and Iran are considered tense. Tehran is demanding that Sweden release Hamid N., a national who was sentenced to life in prison for participating in mass executions of political prisoners in Iran. In May, Iran’s judiciary executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident who had been accused of terrorist activities.
nob/yy (afp, dpa)
Source: DW
