The Iranian government agreed on Saturday to release two Swedes who had been held in Tehran for more than two years in exchange for an Iranian war crimes convict linked to the 1988 massacre of protesters critical of the Islamic Republic in the capital.
While Iranian state media made unfounded claims that Hamid Nouri was being “illegally detained,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christersson countered that European Union diplomat Johan Floders and another Swedish citizen, Saeed Azizi, were facing “hell on earth,” The Associated Press reported.
“The Swedish government has done everything in its power to secure their release,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christersson said. wrote on social media platform X. “Today they landed on Swedish soil and will be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
In a statement after the exchange was announced, Kristerson claimed Iran had used the Swedish prisoners as “pawns in a cynical negotiating game”. He suggested Iran’s goal had always been to free Nouri. “It was clear from the start that this operation required difficult decisions. Now that decision has been made by the Iranian government.”
Floderus was arrested as he and some friends prepared to leave Iran in 2022. Azizi was detained in November 2023 and later sentenced to five years in prison.
The prisoner exchange was mediated by Oman, Oman’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We are pleased to hear of the release of our EU colleague, Swedish national Johan Floders, and his compatriot Said Azizi,” said the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles. Posted in X. “We thank the Swedish and Omani authorities.”
Nouri was arrested in 2019 and convicted of war crimes for his role in a mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. Iran’s late president, Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month, was also complicit in the death committees that executed thousands of dissidents near Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic has taken other countries’ citizens hostage and paved the way for exchanging prisoners for money and releasing criminals by accusing them of baseless accusations,” said Athena Dayemi, a prominent Iranian human rights activist. I wrote it to X. “Instead of resisting the Islamic Republic’s coercion and hostage-taking practices, they have prioritized the interests of their people and their country, and they have proven that time and again.”
Iranian media also released footage of Nouri. Returned to Iran. Video shows him limping off the plane and being embraced by his family.
“I’m Hamid Nouri and I’m in Iran,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “God has set me free.”
Nouri is the first Iranian to be tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction, a legal policy which holds that some crimes are so serious that they can be prosecuted anywhere. Nouri was given a life sentence, but Amnesty International said: It was welcomed at the timeIran condemned the move as illegal.
Iran is holding Ahmadreza Jarai, a Swedish prisoner held by Amnesty International. Said Nouri had previously faced execution for his conviction.
Last year, the United States and Iran exchanged 10 prisoners, including Siamak Namazi, who Iran had held for eight years. Washington released five Iranians and lifted a ban on $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds, but the move was heavily criticized by conservatives.
Authoritarian regimes like Iran and Russia are increasingly arresting Westerners without basis to use as leverage in negotiations with the West. according to To the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
