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Call for release of Swedish prisoner on anniversary of Iran detention

Poster of Johan Floderus at event in Brussels demanding his release
Poster of Johan Floderus at event in Brussels demanding his release Copyright  Screenshot from AP video
Copyright Screenshot from AP video
By Euronews with AP
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Johan Floderus was arrested at Tehran airport in 2022, and has had limited family contact and consular access since being imprisoned.

The European Union's Home Affairs Commissioner has made an appeal for the release of a Swedish employee of the EU's diplomatic corps who was arrested in Iran two years ago.

Sweden says that 33-year-old Johan Floderus, who worked for the EU’s External Action Service, was arbitrarily detained.

Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Floderus had asked to work for the EU delegation in Afghanistan before he was detained in Iran.

“We are dedicated to Johan's case," she said at an event in Brussels. "We are working closely with the Swedish authorities. We condemn Johan's imprisonment and demand his immediate release. We condemn the conditions of his imprisonment and we demand he's treated according to his right."

Supporters of Johan Floderus at event in Brussels to mark anniversary of his detention
Supporters of Johan Floderus at event in Brussels to mark anniversary of his detention Screenshot from AP video

In December, the Iranian judiciary’s news agency said Floderus had been accused of spying for Israel and “corruption on earth” – a crime that carries the death penalty in Iran.

His family deny the allegations, which Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström has decried as “completely baseless and false”.

Floderus’ family say he was denied any contact with them during the first 10 months of his detention, and since then has been granted only a mere few consular visits.

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