TEHRAN, Iran: Iran arrested a Swedish man in his twenties earlier this month and is being held in custody, the Swedish foreign ministry said on Monday.
However, it declined to share any further details on the arrest. Relations between the two countries have been tense since 2019 when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his part in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s.
“The embassy in Tehran is in contact with local authorities. The Foreign Ministry is in contact with relatives in Sweden,” the ministry told the media in an email.
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Iran, in late December, said it would continue efforts for the release of the former Iranian official sentenced for life in Sweden.
Earlier in December, Iran began the trial of a Swedish national, Johan Floderus, a European Union employee who has been imprisoned in the country since April 2022. He has been charged with spying for Israel and “corruption on earth,” a crime that carries the death penalty. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had demanded immediate release of Johan Floderus on December 11, 2023.
