A Swedish EU diplomat has been held captive in Iran for 500 days
2023-09-05 14:33:28
TiranaPost
The European Union's foreign minister confirmed that Johan Floderus, a Swedish diplomat working for the EU, has been held captive in Iran for more than 500 days.
After a meeting in the Spanish city of Cádiz, Josep Borrell told reporters that Brussels is "absolutely" asking for the 33-year-old's release.
On Monday, Sweden partially confirmed a report by the New York Times about the ban, announcing that a Swedish citizen, in his thirties, has been held in Iran since April 2022.
But Borrell went further by confirming the man's name and revealing that he works for the EU's diplomatic corps.
"I want to talk about a specific case, the case of Mr. Floderus. He is a Swedish citizen who works for the European Union and who has been illegally detained in Iran for more than 500 days," Borrell said.
"I want to emphasize that I personally, all my teams at all levels, the European institutions in close coordination with the Swedish ones and his family, are asking the Iranian authorities to release him. In every diplomatic meeting, at all levels, we have discussed this issue continuously," he said.
He said that the release of Floderus is on the agenda of the EU and the Swedish Government and "we will not stop until he is released".
