Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard on the execution of a Swedish citizen in Iran

It is with dismay that I have learned that a Swedish citizen has been executed in Iran earlier today. 

My thoughts are with their relatives in Sweden and in Iran at this difficult time.

The death penalty is an inhuman, cruel and irreversible punishment. Sweden, together with the rest of the EU, condemns its use under any circumstances.

It is clear to us that the legal proceedings that resulted in the Swedish citizen being executed have not been legally certain. Responsibility for this lies wholly with Iran. Sweden will continue to condemn grave human rights violations in Iran.  

Since the arrest of the Swedish citizen in June 2025, Sweden has repeatedly raised the case at different levels with Iranian representatives. In these contacts, Sweden has expressed the expectation that our citizen must be granted a fair hearing and not sentenced to death.