Iran accuses Swede Johan Floderus of spying for Israel

Iran on Sunday held the first hearing for a Swedish citizen detained last year on charges of spying for Israel, media reported.

A report from the news website Mizanonline.ir, which is affiliated with the country's judiciary, said the prosecutor accused the man, identified as Johan Floderus, of having ties to Israeli elements” and gathering information for Israel in the framework of projects through American, Israeli and European institutions that were active against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The prosecutor said Floderus had traveled to Israel, collaborated with Swedish intelligence and transferred money to Iran for projects aimed at overthrowing the government. He asked the judge to prosecute Floderus under articles of Iranian law that carry sentences ranging from six months to the death penalty.

Judge Iman Afshari said a date for the next hearing would be determined later.

The report also published images of Floderus and his lawyers in the courtroom. The report said nothing about Swedish diplomats' consular access to the court.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said in September that its national in his 30s was detained in Iran in April 2022. Later media reports identified him as a Swede who had worked for the European Union's diplomatic corps.

Last year, Iran's intelligence ministry said its agents had arrested a Swedish citizen for espionage. No identity was given to the man, but it was said he was arrested before leaving Iran after several visits to the country.

The Iranians said the man had been in contact with several European and non-European suspects in Iran, and had visited Israel, Iran's enemy, before visiting Iran. The statement accused Sweden of proxy espionage for Israel.

Relations between Stockholm and Tehran have been tense in recent years.

Iran recalled its ambassador from Sweden last year after a Swedish court convicted Iranian national Hamid Noury ​​of war crimes and murder during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and sentenced him to life in prison.

In May, Iran executed an Iranian-Swedish dual national, Farajollah Cha'ab, also known as Habib Asyoud, accused of masterminding a 2018 attack on a military parade that killed at least 25 people. He was one of several enemies of Tehran who were arrested abroad in recent years due to tensions with the West.