The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell confirmed Tuesday {that a} Swedish diplomat has been held in Iran for over 500 days.
Arriving at a gathering on growth within the Spanish metropolis of Cadiz, EU international coverage chief Josep Borrell advised reporters that Brussels was pushing “relentlessly” for 33-year-old Johan Floderus’s launch.
On Monday, Sweden partially confirmed a New York Times report on the detention, asserting {that a} Swedish citizen in his 30s had been held in Iran since April 2022.
But Borrell went additional, confirming the prisoner’s title and that he works for the EU diplomatic corps.
“I want to say something about, if you allow me, a specific case, the case of Mr. Floderus. He’s a Swedish citizen who worked for the European Union and has been detained illegally in Iran for the last 500 days,” Borrell stated.
“I want to stress that I personally, all my team at all levels – European institutions in close coordination with the Swedish authorities, which have the first responsibility of consular protection – and with his family, have been pushing the Iranian authorities to release him.”
“Every time we had diplomatic meetings, at all levels, we have put the issue on the table. Relentlessly,” he added.
“We have been working for the freedom of Mr. Floderus and we will continue doing that in close contact with the family, respecting their will, and for sure with the Swedish government,” stated Borrell.
“This is very much in our agenda, in our heart and we will not stop until Floderus will be free.”
Iran introduced in July final 12 months it had arrested a person on suspicion of espionage, two weeks after an Iranian citizen obtained a life jail time period in Sweden for executions carried out in Iran again in 1988.
A Stockholm court docket discovered former Iranian jail head Hamid Noury responsible of “aggravated crimes against international law” and “murder.”
Several capitals have accused Iran of working towards “hostage diplomacy” – arresting Western nationals to acquire concessions similar to the discharge of detained Iranians.
In May, Belgian humanitarian employee Olivier Vandecasteele, 42, was launched after 15 months in detention for alleged spying in a prisoner swap for Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, sentenced to twenty years for allegedly plotting to bomb a rally in Paris.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
