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The head of the European Union’s diplomatic service has demanded that Iran release a European diplomat who had been “illegally detained” for more than 500 days, and identified the Swedish man a day after he was imprisoned.
Johan Frodrus, a Swedish citizen who works for the European External Action Service, the European Union’s diplomatic arm, was detained last year during a private visit to Iran, The New York Times reported on Monday.
While many Western countries have accused Tehran of detaining private citizens, especially dual nationals, for so-called “hostage diplomacy”, the jailing of Western diplomats has been rare.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative and head of the European Economic Affairs Bureau, confirmed Flodrus’ “illegal detention” on Tuesday, adding that European institutions and Swedish authorities had been “urging the Iranian authorities to release him”.
“We bring this issue to the table every time we hold diplomatic conferences at all levels. We have worked tirelessly for the freedom of Mr. Frodrus. We will continue to do so . . . We will not stop until Mr Si is free,” he told reporters.
A man in his 30s was detained in Iran last April, Sweden’s foreign ministry said, without naming Flodrus.
“The Swedish citizen was arbitrarily deprived of his liberty and should therefore be released immediately,” the statement said. “In order not to complicate our work and for reasons of confidentiality, we cannot disclose further details at this time.”
Tehran has not commented publicly on the case. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters he was not aware of the case when asked about Flodrus’ detention.
However, Iran’s intelligence ministry announced last July that its agents had detained a Swedish national on espionage charges as he was about to leave the Iranian Republic. The report said the unnamed man had been in contact with “several European and non-European suspects” and had visited Israel before heading to Iran.
Relations between Iran and Sweden have deteriorated since the arrest of Iranian national Hamid Nouri in Stockholm in 2019. He was convicted by a Swedish court last year of his involvement in the 1988 execution of Iranian prisoners and sentenced to life in prison last year.
News of Frodrus’ detention comes as Tehran moved five Iranian-American dual nationals from prison to house arrest last month, as the U.S. and Iran seek to finalize a prisoner-swap deal.
As part of the exchange, the United States agreed to allow Iran to access $6 billion in frozen oil funds it holds in South Korea. The funds will be transferred to accounts in Qatar, where they will be monitored to ensure they are spent only on non-sanctioned goods. Once the handover is complete, Iran will allow five U.S. detainees to leave the country, while the Biden administration is expected to release a similar number of Iranian prisoners.
European countries have traditionally had better relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran than the United States, and the EU has been the main mediator in diplomatic efforts to revive Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
But relations with European governments have soured after Tehran violently cracked down on anti-regime protests, sold armed drones to Russia and arrested European dual nationals.
Additional reporting by Laura Dubois in Brussels
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