Sweden releases ex Iranian official in exchange for jailed nationals

A senior Iranian official announced on Saturday that Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian judiciary official, has been released from Sweden, reported Xinhua.

Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian judiciary chief's deputy for international affairs, made the announcement in a post on social media platform X, confirming that Nouri would return to the country within a few hours.

Nouri, 63, was arrested upon arrival in Sweden at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 for alleged human rights violations, which the Iranian side had rejected as "baseless."

In July 2022, Nouri was sentenced to life in prison and expulsion with a permanent bar from re-entering Sweden.

In December 2023, a Swedish appeals court upheld Nouri's conviction and sentencing.

Nouri's release is part of a prisoner exchange agreement mediated by Oman, Oman News Agency reported.

In a video posted on X on Saturday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed the prisoner exchange with Iran, saying Johan Floderus, a Swedish national, and Saeed Azizi, a Swedish-Iranian dual national, were en route to Sweden and "will soon be reunited with their families."

Floderus was detained on espionage charges in Tehran in April 2022, while Azizi was arrested in November 2023 in the Iranian capital for "planning to perpetrate crimes."