Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 19, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2025
Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal

Europe

Reuters
16 June, 2024, 05:30 pm
Last modified: 16 June, 2024, 05:37 pm

Related News

  • Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?
  • Did Trump authorise Israel's strike on Iran, and is US heading to war?
  • Israeli fire kills 140 in Gaza in 24 hours, medics say, as attention shifts to Iran
  • Israel-Iran War: Russia says Israel's attacks illegal, UAE warns of 'uncalculated, reckless steps'
  • How Israel's secret nuclear arsenal comes under spotlight amid attacks on Iran

Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal

Sweden freed former Iranian official Hamid Noury, who had been convicted for his part in a mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. Iran's official IRNA news agency published footage of Noury arriving at Tehran's Mehrabad airport where he was welcomed by his family on a red carpet

Reuters
16 June, 2024, 05:30 pm
Last modified: 16 June, 2024, 05:37 pm
Johan Floderus, after being imprisoned in Iran, is reunited with his family at Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm, Sweden 15 June 2024. Photo:  TT News Agency/Tom Samuelsson / Regeringkansliet via REUTERS
Johan Floderus, after being imprisoned in Iran, is reunited with his family at Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm, Sweden 15 June 2024. Photo: TT News Agency/Tom Samuelsson / Regeringkansliet via REUTERS

Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, officials said, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there.

The prisoner swap was mediated by Oman, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement. "Omani efforts resulted in the two sides agreeing on a mutual release, as those released were transferred from Tehran and Stockholm," it said.    

Sweden freed former Iranian official Hamid Noury, who had been convicted for his part in a mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. Iran's official IRNA news agency published footage of Noury arriving at Tehran's Mehrabad airport where he was welcomed by his family on a red carpet.    

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Meanwhile, Swedish citizens Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi, who had been detained in Iran, were freed and flown back to Sweden where they arrived late on Saturday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the pair were in good condition given the circumstances and had been reunited with their families.

"Iran used them both as pawns in a cynical negotiation game with the purpose of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Noury released from prison in Sweden. He is convicted of serious crimes committed in Iran in the 1980s," Kristersson said in a statement. 

"As prime minister I have a special responsibility for Swedish citizens' safety. The government has therefore worked intensively on the issue, together with the Swedish security services which have negotiated with Iran."

WAR CRIMES

Noury, 63, was arrested at a Stockholm airport in 2019 and later sentenced to life in prison for war crimes for the mass execution and torture of political prisoners at the Gohardasht prison in Karaj, Iran, in 1988. He denied the charges.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson described Noury as a hostage in a statement to local media, saying his imprisonment was due to an "illegal Swedish court decision that lacked legitimacy."

Noury told reporters his case had been complicated and sensitive. "They said even God cannot free Hamid Noury, but he did," he told reporters on his arrival in Iran.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of groups opposed to Iran's Islamic Republic government, said it appeared Sweden had yielded to blackmail and hostage-taking tactics in a move that would encourage Tehran.     

Lawyer Kenneth Lewis, who represented a dozen plaintiffs in the Noury case in Sweden, said his clients were not consulted and were "appalled and devastated" over Noury's release.

"This is an affront to the entire justice system and everyone who has participated in these trials," he told Reuters. 

Lewis said his clients sympathised with the Swedish government's efforts to get its citizens home but said Noury's release was "totally disproportionate."

'HELL ON EARTH'

Floderus, a European Union employee, was arrested in Iran in 2022 and charged with spying for Israel and "corruption on earth," a crime that carries the death penalty.   

Swedish-Iranian dual national Saeed Azizi was arrested in Iran in November 2023, on what Sweden called "wrongful grounds."

In a late-night news conference, Kristersson appealed for the pair to now be allowed time alone with their families.

"These are two people who have experienced hell on earth," he said. "I understand how this is received with mixed feelings, not least among Swedes who stem from Iran. This was not an easy deliberation the government has had to make, but sometimes you have to do difficult things and do what is right."     

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the release of the two Swedes from "unjustified Iranian custody" and congratulated Sweden on its work to get them freed.

Another Swedish-Iranian dual national, Ahmadreza Djalali, arrested in 2016, remains in an Iranian jail. An emergency medicine doctor, Djalali was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Iran had refused to even consider Djalali a Swedish citizen after he received citizenship in the Nordic country, where he lived and worked prior to his arrest, while in Iranian prison.

"To Djalali and his family I would like to say that the security services made great efforts for their husband and father to be part of today's operation," Billstrom said.

"There is no doubt that we will continue to work tirelessly to bring home citizens like Djalali."

World+Biz

Sweden / Iran / prisoner exchange

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    Israel attacks Iran security agency; Trump mulls joining conflict
  • Pvt sector's foreign loan rises by $454m on stable exchange rate, reserve in three months
    Pvt sector's foreign loan rises by $454m on stable exchange rate, reserve in three months
  • Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?
    Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

MOST VIEWED

  • Infograph: TBS
    Govt to ease loan rules to help foreign firms expand in Bangladesh
  • Google Pay. Photo: Collected
    Google Pay coming to Bangladesh next week
  • Logo of Beximco Group. Photo: Collected
    Beximco defaults on €33m in Germany, Deshbandhu owes Czech bank €4m
  • Global map showing nuclear weapon inventories by country as of January 2025, including deployed, stored, and retired warheads. Source: SIPRI
    How Israel's secret nuclear arsenal comes under spotlight amid attacks on Iran
  • The Kallyanpur Canal is burdened with more than 600,000 kilograms of waste every month. Photo: Courtesy
    Kallyanpur canal project shows how to combat plastic pollution in Dhaka
  • The India-Bangladesh integrated checkpost in Fulbari. Photo: Passang Yolmo via Telegraph India
    Import of boulders from Bhutan to Bangladesh stopped by Indian transporters in Fulbari

Related News

  • Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?
  • Did Trump authorise Israel's strike on Iran, and is US heading to war?
  • Israeli fire kills 140 in Gaza in 24 hours, medics say, as attention shifts to Iran
  • Israel-Iran War: Russia says Israel's attacks illegal, UAE warns of 'uncalculated, reckless steps'
  • How Israel's secret nuclear arsenal comes under spotlight amid attacks on Iran

Features

Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

10h | Panorama
The Kallyanpur Canal is burdened with more than 600,000 kilograms of waste every month. Photo: Courtesy

Kallyanpur canal project shows how to combat plastic pollution in Dhaka

1d | Panorama
The GLS600 overall has a curvaceous nature, with seamless blends across every panel. PHOTO: Arfin Kazi

Mercedes Maybach GLS600: Definitive Luxury

2d | Wheels
Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

3d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

What's going on in Netanyahu's head behind the regime change story?

What's going on in Netanyahu's head behind the regime change story?

10h | TBS World
The type of bomb the US could use if Trump attacks Iran

The type of bomb the US could use if Trump attacks Iran

10h | TBS World
Why is Fordow Nuclear Facility at the Center of Trump’s Deliberations?

Why is Fordow Nuclear Facility at the Center of Trump’s Deliberations?

12h | TBS World
AI will replace jobs at tech giant: Amazon CEO

AI will replace jobs at tech giant: Amazon CEO

13h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net