(Reuters) – A Swedish man in his twenties was arrested in Iran earlier this month and is being held in custody, the Swedish foreign ministry said on Monday.
It declined to share any further details on the arrest. However, relations between Sweden and Iran 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 Reuters in an email.
Iran, in late December, said it would keep seeking the release of the former Iranian official sentenced to life in prison in Sweden.
Earlier in December, Iran began the trial of a Swedish national, Johan Floderus, a European Union employee who has been imprisoned since April 2022. He is charged with spying for Israel and “corruption on earth,” a crime that carries the death penalty.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson demanded the immediate release of Johan Floderus on December 11 last year.
(Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek; editing by Christina Fincher)
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