Family of Swede detained in Iran calls for international support

The family of a Swedish EU employee being held in Iran has urged members of the world community to get him released after more than 500 days in jail for the alleged act of spying, his family members said on Sunday.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Tuesday that Johan Floderus’ imprisonment had been discussed repeatedly with the authorities in the Islamic Republic.

“The family, friends, and supporters of Johan are calling for urgent international attention to secure his immediate release and safe return to Europe,” the family’s message on Weabite that was dedicated to his freedom on the day he turned 33.

They claimed that Floderus was detained without charge at Tehran’s Evin prison, where political prisoners and numerous detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality, are imprisoned.

His family told him Floderus was a frequent traveler across his travels in the Middle East to study languages, explore ancient sites, and help with humanitarian initiatives in Iran as part of the EU. He was detained in April 2022 before he left the country.

“His needs for adequate food rations, outside walks, medical checkups, and much more are not respected (in jail),” his family wrote. They added that he was not allowed to “communicate” with Sweden’s embassy in Tehran except for some consular visits.

They stated that beginning in February 2023, Floderus was limited to brief phone calls only once per month.

“He had to go on hunger strike to be allowed to make several of these calls, which must be in English and monitored.”

Since the beginning, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual-nationals and foreigners, primarily for espionage and security-related charges.

Rights organizations and Western governments have complained that the Islamic Republic is trying to get concessions to other nations by imposing arrests on security-related allegations that could have been made up. Tehran declares that these arrests are by its criminal code and denies that it holds individuals for political reasons.

Relationships between Stockholm and Tehran have been in tension since 2019 when Sweden took an ex-Iranian official over his involvement in the executions and tortured political prisoners in Iran during the 1980s. His sentence was life in prison last year, which prompted Iran to recall their ambassador in Sweden to protest.