Sweden demands consular access to trial of Swedish diplomat held in Iran
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström called on Iran to grant the Swedish embassy access to the trial of Johan Floderus, an EU diplomate held in Iran for more than 600 days.
Floderus, who works for the EU's diplomatic service, was arrested on April 17th, 2022, at Tehran airport as he was returning to Iran from a trip with friends.
Tehran has accused the 33-year-old of conspiring with Iran's arch-enemy Israel and of corruption on earth, one of Iran's most serious offences which carries a maximum penalty of death.
"The important thing in this situation is to protect the interests of Johan Floderus and our top priority is to make sure that a Swedish person from the embassy is allowed to be present at the trial so we can make sure that he gets a fair trial," Tobias Billström told reporters, as he arrived at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
Billstrom said he was in contact with the Iranian regime to understand why the Swedish charge d'affaires in Tehran was not given access to the opening of the trial, and to "make sure that he would be allowed to attend when the trial resumes".
Floderus' trial opened on Saturday behind closed doors.
"It is worth noting that we consider all these charges unfounded and false, and we urge the Iranian regime to release Mr Floderus so he can be reunited with his family as soon as possible," Billström said.
EU's top foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Sunday for his immediate release, saying "there are absolutely no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention".
The Swede is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
No date has been given for the resumption of his trial.
Comments
See Also
Floderus, who works for the EU's diplomatic service, was arrested on April 17th, 2022, at Tehran airport as he was returning to Iran from a trip with friends.
Tehran has accused the 33-year-old of conspiring with Iran's arch-enemy Israel and of corruption on earth, one of Iran's most serious offences which carries a maximum penalty of death.
"The important thing in this situation is to protect the interests of Johan Floderus and our top priority is to make sure that a Swedish person from the embassy is allowed to be present at the trial so we can make sure that he gets a fair trial," Tobias Billström told reporters, as he arrived at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
Billstrom said he was in contact with the Iranian regime to understand why the Swedish charge d'affaires in Tehran was not given access to the opening of the trial, and to "make sure that he would be allowed to attend when the trial resumes".
Floderus' trial opened on Saturday behind closed doors.
"It is worth noting that we consider all these charges unfounded and false, and we urge the Iranian regime to release Mr Floderus so he can be reunited with his family as soon as possible," Billström said.
EU's top foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Sunday for his immediate release, saying "there are absolutely no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention".
The Swede is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
No date has been given for the resumption of his trial.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.