Statements by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the return to Sweden of Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi

Johan Floderus was arrested in Iran on 17 April 2022. Since then – for 790 days – he has been imprisoned, baselessly accused of espionage and at risk of being sentenced to death. Now he is on a plane, on his way home to Sweden.

Also on the same plane is Swedish citizen Saeed Azizi, who was arrested on equally false grounds in November 2023.

Iran has made them both pawns in a cynical negotiating game, with the aim of getting Iranian citizen Hamid Noury released from prison in Sweden. He is convicted of grave offences committed in Iran in the 1980s.

As Prime Minister, I bear a special responsibility for the safety of Swedish citizens. The Government has therefore worked intensively on this matter, alongside the Swedish security services who have negotiated with Iran.

It has consistently been apparent that the operation would require some difficult decisions. We have now taken those decisions. Soon, two Swedish citizens will land in Sweden and be reunited with their loved ones.