Swedes have returned to Sweden following a prisoner exchange with Iran.
Between the pair of Swedes, one is EU diplomat Johan Floderus, who's been on death row in Iran since April 2022, and Saeed Azizi, nabbed in November 2023.
The simultaneous release of these two men coincided with an Iranian declaration, revealing that Hamid Nuri, serving a life sentence in Sweden for his part in the mass slayings of Dissidents in Iran during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), had been freed in a swap of prisoners. The 63-year-old ex-prison guard was jailed in Sweden for his hand in the mass executions of Dissidents in Iran during the Iran-Iraq War.
As the final stretch of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) drew to a close, thousands of Iranians were executed all over the country. Approximately 5000 prisoners were executed on Ayatollah Khomeini's orders, the Revolution Leader and founder of the Islamic Republic, and most of the victims were Members of the People's Mujahedin.
The Swedish release of Nuri as part of the prisoner swap was met with disapproval from Iranian Dissidents residing overseas.
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Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish Prime Minister, expressed his gratitude for the successful prisoner exchange. The exchange took place in Stockholm, which served as the venue for the handover of the two prisoners. The EU has also expressed its support for the prisoner exchange, viewing it as a positive step towards diplomatic relations with Iran. Despite the release, tensions remain high between Iran and Iranian Dissidents living abroad, who strongly disapprove of the swap.
