On Wednesday, Iran executed a Swedish citizen accused of spying for Israel. Swedish diplomacy speaks of consternation and repeated unsuccessful interventions.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmerova Stenergard announced that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran on Wednesday. Reuters and AFP drew attention to it, TASR reports.
- A Swedish citizen was executed in Iran on Wednesday, the Swedish government confirmed.
- Iran’s judiciary said the man was convicted of spying for Israel.
- The man was supposed to provide the Mossad with photos and information about sensitive Iranian locations.
- He was detained last June during the twelve-day war with Israel.
- Sweden and the European Union unequivocally condemn the death penalty in all circumstances.
“It was with great dismay that I received the information that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran today,” Malmerová Stenergardová said in a statement.
Charges of espionage
Iran’s judiciary announced earlier on Wednesday that the authorities there executed a man accused of spying for Israel. The Mizan news website reported on the man’s alleged meetings with agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, to whom he was supposed to provide “images and information about sensitive locations in the country.” Mizan added that the man was trained in “six European countries and in Tel Aviv”.
The executed man was detained last June during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, in which the United States was also involved. According to Malmer Stenergard, since then, Sweden has “repeatedly raised this issue with Iranian officials at various levels.”
The position of Sweden and the EU
“The death penalty is inhumane, cruel and irreversible. Sweden, together with other member states of the European Union, condemns its application under any circumstances,” the minister said in a statement.
AFP reported on Wednesday that it was the first report of such an execution since the February 28 war between Iran, Israel and the United States.
