Iran puts EU official from Sweden on trial

According to Iranian state media, Iran has tried a European Union official from Sweden on charges including spying for Israel and a charge that could carry the death penalty, prompting renewed calls for his release.

The official, Johan Floderus, has been held in Iran for about 600 days — held in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison in what appeared to be yet another case of Iran taking hostages to pressure the West for concessions. Mr Floderus turned 33 while in Iranian custody, and his family has cited the brutal prison conditions in the campaign for his release.

The Mizan news agency, which is supervised by the Iranian judiciary, published photos on Sunday from Mr Floderus – including some of him in handcuffs – and said he had appeared in court to hear the charges against him. It reported that prosecutors accused Mr. Floderus of “extensive intelligence cooperation” with Israel and of “corruption on earth” – a broad, vaguely defined charge that constitutes one of Iran’s most serious crimes and carries the death penalty.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that Mr. Floderus had lawyers and an official translator with him at the court in Tehran, but did not say whether he had entered a plea.

Sweden’s charge d’affaires was present at the courthouse but was “denied the right to participate in the proceedings,” the country’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement.

“There are no grounds whatsoever to detain Johan Floderus, let alone bring him to justice,” he added.

On Monday, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden also demanded the “immediate release” of Mr Floderus.

“We are working intensively on this issue together with Iran,” he told a news conference in Stockholm.

Noting that the trial had begun on Saturday, the European Union disputed the charges, with the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, saying it was “very clear from the beginning: Mr Floderus is innocent.”

“There are absolutely no reasons to keep Johan Floderus in custody,” he said in a press statement rack On Sunday he called on Iran to free the Swedish citizen “immediately”.

Mr. Floderus’s professional background appears to have made him a valuable prisoner in what experts describe as an energetic “hostage diplomacy” promoted by Iran. The New York Times was the first to report his detention in September, which had been kept secret by EU and Swedish officials for more than a year.

Before joining the European Union’s diplomatic corps, Mr Floderus held a range of positions within the bloc’s institutions and had traveled to Iran on official EU business for humanitarian projects, according to his family. He was on a tourist visit in April 2022 when he was arrested at Tehran airport on his way from Iran.

An Iranian statement at the time announced the arrest of a Swedish citizen and cited that person’s previous visits to Iran as evidence of unlawful activities.

The indictment against Mr. Floderus revealed that his role as an employee of EU agencies was most likely a contributing factor: IRNA reported that the indictment accused him of gathering information for Israel’s benefit through American, Israeli and European institutions.

Some of his supporters hoped that EU diplomats would be urged to take further action to free him. In his statement, Mr Borrell said he had raised Mr Floderus’ case with the Iranian authorities at every opportunity.

“The European Union will continue to work tirelessly for the release of our colleague Johan and that of other EU nationals like him arbitrarily detained in Iran,” Mr Borrell said.

The European Union has a complex relationship with Iran. While the country maintains sanctions against several senior Iranian officials, the bloc is also pursuing diplomatic efforts to limit Tehran’s uranium enrichment program and prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons. Critics and campaigners for the release of people wrongfully detained in Iran have said such diplomatic activity undermines the European Union’s willingness to pressure or punish Tehran to secure the release of Mr Floderus and other EU nationals held in Iranian prisons on false charges.

The relationship between Iran and Sweden is increasingly under pressure. In May 2022, shortly after Mr. Floderus’ arrest, Iran said it planned to execute Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish scientist accused of spying for Israel. That announcement coincided with the conclusion of a landmark trial in Sweden, where for the first time outside Iran, a former Iranian official was tried for crimes against humanity.

Leily Nikounazar And Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting from Brussels; Isabella Anderson reported from London.