Iran's Public Prosecutor's Office has demanded the maximum sentence in the trial against imprisoned Swedish EU official Johan Floderus. “The defendant had intensive contacts with the Zionist regime (Israel) and transmitted various secret information abroad,” the Public Prosecutor's Office accused him today, according to the Misan justice portal. “Therefore, the maximum penalty is demanded against the man.”
Floderus and his lawyers now have a week to make their closing arguments to the court. The trial took place again before a revolutionary court, which is mainly responsible for serious cases of espionage in Iran. In addition to collaborating with archenemy Israel, the Swede is also accused of violating the country's national security, which could mean a long sentence of prison.
Death penalty possible if found guilty
The main accusation, however, is “corruption on earth”. If the 33-year-old Swede is found guilty according to this Islamic legal concept, it could even result in a death sentence against him. The Swede protested his innocence several times. He described his trip to Iran in the summer of 2022, when he was arrested, as purely private.
Floderus' trial in Iran is directly related to a trial in Sweden against an Iranian. The 62-year-old was convicted in Stockholm in July 2022 for participating in the mass executions of political prisoners in Iran in the late 1980s. The appeal court upheld his life sentence last year.
Relations between Sweden and Iran have cooled significantly. In May, Tehran executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident. Another citizen with dual nationality was also sentenced to death in Iran, following accusations of espionage. Critics accuse Iran of wanting to exert more pressure with a harsh sentence against Floderus. At the same time, it is also clear that Iran wants to use its actions to force a prisoner exchange with Sweden.