The trial of the Swede Johan Floderus, its diplomat The European Union held in Iran for more than 600 days, began in Tehran, Sweden’s foreign minister said today.

“I was informed today that his trial Johann Floderus it started in Tehran,” said Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom.

Floderus, 33, was arrested on April 17, 2022 at Tehran airport as he was preparing to board his return flight after a tourist visit to Iran.

Floderus, who works for the European Union’s diplomatic services, has since been held in Evin prison in Tehran, where many opponents of the Iranian regime are held.

Billstrom has described his detention as “arbitrary”.

“There is no basis for Johan Floderus to remain a prisoner, let alone bring him to justice,” stressed the Swedish Foreign Ministerstating that Sweden and the EU have made this position “very clear” to its representatives Iran.

In September, Iranian judicial authorities said Floderus had “committed crimes” in Iran, adding that an investigation was underway. According to his family, he faces espionage charges.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, had confirmed that Floderus, a European diplomat of Swedish citizenship, is being held in Iran.

A European official told AFP in September that Tehran had never given a “clear answer” about the reasons for the diplomat’s arrest and detention.

Relations between Sweden and Iran have been strained since 2019, when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his role in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s. The man was sentenced to life in prison last year, resulting in Iran to recall its envoy to Sweden in protest.