Iran has agreed to release two Swedish nationals held in Tehran for over two years in exchange for a convicted Iranian war criminal linked to the 1988 mass killing of protestors critical of the Islamic Republic.
Iranian state media claimed, without evidence, that Hamid Nouri was “illegally detained.” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson countered that European Union diplomat Johan Floderus and a second Swedish citizen, Saeed Azizi, endured a “hell on earth.” Kristersson shared on social media platform X, “The Swedish government has worked intensively for them to be released. Today, they will land on Swedish soil and be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
In a statement following the swap announcement, Kristersson accused Iran of using the Swedish prisoners as “pawns in a cynical negotiation game,” aiming to free Nouri. “It has been clear all along that this operation would require difficult decisions; now the government has made those decisions,” he stated.
Floderus was arrested in 2022 while preparing to leave Iran with friends. Azizi was detained in November 2023 and later sentenced to five years in prison. Oman mediated the prisoner swap, according to its Foreign Ministry.
EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell Fontelles expressed relief on X, saying, “We rejoice at the news of the liberation of EU colleague & Swedish citizen Johan Floderus and his compatriot Saeed Azizi. We thank Swedish & Omani authorities.”
Nouri was arrested in 2019 and later convicted of war crimes for his role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. The late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month, was also involved in the executions of thousands of dissidents near Tehran.
Prominent Iranian human rights advocate Atena Daemi criticized Iran’s strategy, writing on X, “The Islamic Republic has paved its way to exchange prisoners for money or release its criminals by taking citizens of other countries hostage and accusing them of baseless accusations. Instead of resisting the coercion and hostage-taking of the Islamic Republic, they prioritize the interests of their people and their country and have proven this many times.”
Iranian media released footage of Nouri returning to Iran, showing him limping off the airplane and being embraced by his family. “I am Hamid Nouri. I am in Iran,” he declared, according to news, “God makes me free.”
Nouri was the first Iranian tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows some crimes to be prosecuted anywhere. He received a life sentence, hailed by Amnesty International but condemned by Iran as unlawful.
Iran still holds another Swedish prisoner, Ahmadreza Djalali, whom Amnesty International previously warned was at risk of execution due to Nouri’s conviction.
Last year, the U.S. and Iran swapped 10 prisoners, including Siamak Namazi, who Iran had held for eight years. The U.S. released five Iranians and unblocked $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds, a move criticized by conservatives.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies notes that authoritarian regimes like Iran and Russia increasingly arrest Westerners without basis to use them in negotiations with the West.
