Sweden says that tourists traveling with a group are imprisoned in Iran
Sweden said on Friday that one of its citizens traveling as a tourist has been detained in Iran, in the latest incident to worsen relations between the two countries.
In a brief e-mail comment, the Foreign Ministry said the man was in his 30s and that the embassy in Tehran “sought information and is in contact with local authorities.”
Iranian authorities did not immediately acknowledge the arrest. Neither the Iranian judiciary nor its mission to the UN responded immediately to requests for comment.
Sveriges Aftonbladet wrote late last Thursday that the man was arrested when he was about to leave Iran, where he traveled with other Swedes. No date was specified.
The newspaper linked the arrest to the trial in Sweden against an Iranian accused of genocide. The verdict in that case will come on July 14.
Swedish prosecutors have demanded life imprisonment for Hamid Nouri, who has been detained in Sweden since he was arrested in Stockholm in November 2019.
Stockholm District Court said this week that Nouri “will be detained until the verdict is announced or otherwise decided.”
Iran also plans to execute an Iranian-Swedish researcher who has been imprisoned since 2016, according to an Iranian media report. The report, quoted by the semi-official news agency ISNA, informed Iranian officials who said that Iran would carry out the death penalty against Ahmad Reza Jalali by May 21.