SWEDEN, June 17 - Johan Floderus was arrested in April 2022 and has since been imprisoned, baselessly accused of espionage and at risk of being sentenced to death. Saeed Azizi was arrested on equally false grounds in November 2023. Now, both are free. At 21.20 last night, their plane landed on Swedish soil.

“For me, protecting and saving Swedish lives overrides everything else. Two people who have suffered hell on earth finally got to reunite with their loved ones. I don’t think any of us can fully understand what they’ve been through, but I think we can all understand the joy of their families today,” says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

“It is with great relief and pleasure that I can say that we successfully brought Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi home. The Swedish Government has worked intensively to free our citizens, and we’ve utilised all our available diplomatic channels,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström.

“These decisions have been taken following in-depth considerations that were far from simple. Normally, a person convicted of murder and gross violations of international law must serve their full sentence. But against that were two Swedish citizens detained in Iran on arbitrary grounds, with their lives and health in serious danger. For the Government, these two Swedish citizens’ lives have taken precedence,” says Minister for Justice.