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Ex-Iranian official Hamid Nouri released from Swedish prison
Welcomed by Head of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi, he arrived in Tehran on Saturday.
Iran’s top human rights official had earlier announced Nouri’s release on his X account.
“I am delighted to inform the esteemed nation of Iran that Mr. Hamid Nouri, who has been under detention in Sweden since 2019, has been released and will be returning to our country within a few hours,” Gharibabadi said, Press TV reported.
He also attributed this success to the efforts of his colleagues in the Judiciary, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly late foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. In a message on Saturday, Nouri’s son also announced the release of his father from a prison in Sweden.
“On the eve of the Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Ghadir festivals, after 1,680 days of captivity, the tireless efforts of our resolute and courageous officials have paid off, and my father, Hamid Nouri, is about to return to Iran,” Majid Nouri said.
Nouri was arrested upon arrival at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 and was immediately imprisoned. He has been illegally jailed for three and a half years in solitary confinement in Sweden.
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.
A Swedish court sentenced Nouri to life imprisonment in 2022. 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.
Sweden’s Appeal Court then upheld the verdict in December 2023. Nouri himself has vehemently denied the charges brought against him in the case while calling them fabricated.
Meanwhile, a Swedish EU diplomat and another Swede held in Iran have been released and were on a flight home to Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Saturday, AFP reported.
Johan Floderus, who had been held in Iran since April 2022 accused of espionage, and Saeed Azizi, who was arrested in November 2023, were on their way home,” Kristersson said.