STOCKHOLM – Sweden and Iran conducted a prisoner exchange on Saturday, with Sweden releasing a former Iranian official convicted of involvement in a 1980s mass execution, and Iran freeing two Swedes held there.
The swap was facilitated by Oman, whose foreign ministry announced, “Omani efforts resulted in both sides agreeing to a mutual release, with those freed being transferred from Tehran and Stockholm.”
Sweden released Hamid Noury, a former Iranian official convicted for his role in the 1988 mass execution of political prisoners in Iran. Iran’s IRNA news agency showed footage of Noury arriving at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, welcomed by his family on a red carpet.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed that Swedish citizens Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi, detained in Iran, were on their way back to Sweden. He criticized Iran for using the two Swedes as “pawns in a cynical negotiation game” to secure Noury’s release, noting that Noury was convicted of serious crimes committed in the 1980s.
“As prime minister, I have a special responsibility for the safety of Swedish citizens. The government has worked intensively on this issue, alongside the Swedish security services negotiating with Iran,” Kristersson stated.
Noury, 63, was arrested at a Stockholm airport in 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, including the mass execution and torture of political prisoners at Gohardasht prison in Karaj, Iran, in 1988. He denied the charges.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson called Noury a hostage, claiming his imprisonment resulted from an “illegal Swedish court decision that lacked legitimacy.”
Upon his return to Iran, Noury told reporters, “They said even God cannot free Hamid Noury, but he did,” acknowledging the complexity and sensitivity of his case.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition opposing Iran’s Islamic Republic government, criticized Sweden for yielding to blackmail and hostage-taking, suggesting this move would embolden Tehran.
Kenneth Lewis, a lawyer representing a dozen plaintiffs in Noury’s case in Sweden, expressed dismay over Noury’s release, calling it “an affront to the entire justice system and everyone who participated in these trials.” He acknowledged his clients’ sympathy for the Swedish government’s efforts to bring its citizens home but deemed Noury’s release “totally disproportionate.”
Floderus, an EU employee, was arrested in Iran in 2022 and charged with espionage for Israel and “corruption on earth,” a crime punishable by death.
