DUBAI: Iran’s judiciary confirmed on Tuesday that a Swedish national working for the European Union had been detained, the latest known case of a foreign national being held in Iran amid political tension with the West.
Sweden and the European Union Commission said last week a Swedish national was being detained in Iran. Sweden said Johan Floderus was detained in April 2022 for what his family said was alleged spying.
“The Swedish national has been lawfully imprisoned following a preliminary inquiry and the results of a full investigation into his case made by the prosecutor’s office will be sent in the coming days to a competent court,” Iran’s judiciary spokesperson, Masoud Setayeshi, said.
The spokesperson did not detail the precise charges faced by Floderus.
Relations between Sweden and Iran have been tense since 2019 when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his part in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s. He was sentenced to life in prison last year, prompting Iran to recall its envoy to Sweden in protest.
In May, Iran executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident convicted of leading an Arab separatist group Tehran blames for a number of attacks including one on a military parade in 2018 that killed 25 people.
Iran confirms detention of Swedish EU worker
https://arab.news/gj9jb
Iran confirms detention of Swedish EU worker
- Sweden and the European Union Commission said last week a Swedish national was being detained in Iran
- Johan Floderus was detained in April 2022 for alleged spying
Senior Hamas figure among 7 killed in Israeli airstrike
- Pair of Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, killing a Hamas commander
- Boy, aged 16, among the dead
CAIRO: A senior figure in the armed wing of Hamas was among seven people killed on Thursday in a pair of Israeli airstrikes in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, a Hamas source said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. The Hamas source said one of the dead was Mohammed Al-Holy, a local commander in the group’s armed wing in Deir Al-Balah.
Hamas condemned the strikes on the Al-Holy family, in a statement that did not mention Mohammed or his role in the group. It accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal in place since October, and attempting to reignite the conflict.
Health officials said the six other dead in the incident included a 16-year-old.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart from each other on key issues, despite the United States announcing the start of the agreement’s second phase on Wednesday.
More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect in October.
Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory’s more than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.
The United Nations children’s agency said on Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
