Iran Puts Swedish EU Official on Trial; Charges Include Spying for Israel, US, EU
The trial of Johan Floderus, a European Union official and Swedish national currently held prisoner in the Islamic Republic, began over the weekend in Tehran.
Floderus, 33, has been detained by the Iranian government for about 600 days, having been arrested in April 2022 while visiting the country on a tourist visa. At the time of his arrest, Floderus was a member of the EU’s diplomatic corps and had worked across various EU agencies during his career, including previous trips to Iran on official EU business.
Supposedly, the Swedish diplomat’s previous humanitarian work in Iran constituted the basis for his indictment, with the Iranian state media agency IRNA claiming that the trips were a cover while he gathered intelligence for Israel under the guise of development work through European institutions.
Since being taken into custody by Iranian authorities at the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Floderus has been held with Iran’s other high-profile political international detainees and internal dissidents at Evin prison—a place infamous for its horrific conditions.
On Sunday, Iran’s judiciary media and news arm, Mizan, published photographs of Floderus appearing for the commencement of his trial, where he would face charges of “extensive intelligence cooperation” with Israel and “corruption on Earth.”
Within Iran’s Islamic court system, being convicted of the second charge can carry sentences as severe as death.
Iranian state media agency IRNA reported that Floderus was provided with both a Farsi translator and lawyers.
According to a statement released by Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, his country’s chargé d’affaires was present at the courthouse but was “denied the right to take part in the proceedings.”
Both Billstrom and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson asserted publicly on Sunday that the Iranian regime’s abduction of their country’s citizen has no merit, with Kristersson stating that “there are absolutely no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention.”
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, reiterated the Swedish official’s calls, claiming that “there are absolutely no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention.”
“The European Union will continue to work tirelessly to secure the release of our colleague Johan and that of other EU nationals like him, who are arbitrarily detained in Iran,” Borrell said, responding to criticism that the EU had not taken drastic enough steps to secure Floderus’ release.
