Nouri verdict ‘unacceptable’
Iran has condemned as “unacceptable” a Swedish court’s verdict against a former Iranian judiciary official, Hamid Nouri, who has been illegally incarcerated in Sweden.
A Swedish court on Tuesday upheld a controversial life sentence for 62-year-old Nouri, who was arrested in 2019 under unfounded allegations of rights abuse and for what was claimed to be his alleged role in the deaths of prisoners in Iran in the 1980s.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday vehemently condemned as “fundamentally unacceptable” the verdict issued by the Stockholm Court of Appeals.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran regards the primary and appeals court’s verdict concerning Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri to be fundamentally unacceptable and strongly condemns it,” said Nasser Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Press TV reported.
“It is regrettable that the Swedish court, disregarding the standards of a fair trial, has moved to issue such a destructive verdict.”
He underlined that Sweden had sided with anti-Iran terrorist groups by such a ruling and has jeopardized Tehran-Stockholm relations.
“Unfortunately, Sweden’s judicial system, by siding with the terrorist groups that have been engaged in the most heinous terrorist and inhumane acts against the people of Iran, Iraq, and even Europe for decades, has endangered the interests of the two nations as well as the old, historical and deep-rooted relations between the two countries,” Kanaani said.
“In light of its inherent duties in defending the rights of its citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran has used all legal capacities and facilities to free the said citizen from the grip of injustice and will continue its efforts until the fulfillment of the rights of its citizens,” he added.
The Foreign Ministry’s spokesman also stressed that the Islamic Republic reserves the right to take “appropriate” steps in that regard.
The former Iranian judiciary official has been placed in solitary confinement since his illegal arrest.
‘Unfair’ verdict
Also, Iran’s judiciary said the Swedish court’s verdict is unfair and that no ruling but the exoneration of the 62-year-old will be acceptable.
“The verdict against Hamid Nouri was unfair but predictable,” Massoud Setayeshi, the judiciary spokesman was quoted as saying by ISNA.
“We will not recognize any verdict except the acquittal verdict regarding Hamid Nouri’s innocence.”
Nouri was arrested upon arrival at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 and was immediately imprisoned.
He was put on trial on unfounded allegations staged against him by elements representing the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group that has openly boasted about carrying out terrorist operations against Iranian officials and civilians perceived to be supporters of the government.
The terrorist group had falsely claimed that Nouri was involved in the execution and torture of MKO members in 1988, baseless charges he has vehemently rejected.
In July last year, a Swedish court sentenced Nouri to life imprisonment. The court, which was described by Iran as illegitimate in the first place, convicted Nouri of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” entirely based on claims made by MKO terrorists living in exile across Europe.
The former Iranian judiciary official has been placed in solitary confinement since his illegal arrest.
As Nouri’s lower court trial was underway in Stockholm in April 2022, Iran arrested Johan Floderus, a Swede working for the EU’s diplomatic service on espionage charges, as he was returning from a trip to Iran with friends.
The Iranian judiciary spokesman also said that the case of Johan Floderus was being investigated at an official
court.
On Wednesday, a court session dealing with the charges against the Swedish national was held at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in the presence of the Swedish Embassy official in Tehran, IRNA reported.
The third session of hearings was held on December 18, according to the judiciary spokesman.
“The legal proceedings for the case are underway in a court,” he said.
He has been in temporary detention since last year.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced in March last year that it had arrested the Swedish national, who had been visiting the country, on espionage charges after having him under surveillance for some time.
The Intelligence Ministry stressed that the Swedish suspect had re-entered Iran several months earlier following the arrest of “another European spy” in order to acquire information about the identity of the detained European person and how he had been arrested by the ministry.
The suspect had had a history of traveling to the Israeli-occupied territories before leaving for Iran.