Image Credentials: Image Title: Sweden Protests Reported Death Sentence for Citizen Detained in Iran Source: (sora.openai) Date: December 2025. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (sora.openai) and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies | December 21, 2025
STOCKHOLM/TEHRAN — Diplomatic tensions between Stockholm and Tehran have reached a breaking point following unconfirmed reports that a Swedish-Iranian dual national, detained during the 12-day war in June, has been sentenced to death on charges of spying for Israel.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard announced on Friday that the ministry had summoned Iran’s ambassador to lodge a formal protest. While Sweden has confirmed the citizen is in custody and has access to legal counsel, officials are working urgently to verify the reported “first-instance” death sentence.
Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir detailed the charges on December 16, claiming the suspect, who obtained Swedish citizenship in 2020, was recruited by Israeli intelligence in 2023. According to Tehran, the individual:
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Training: Received espionage training in the capitals of six European countries.
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Travel: Visited Israel several times, including just two weeks before entering Iran.
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Infiltration: Settled in a villa near Karaj (45 km from Tehran) one month before the June conflict began.
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Evidence: Was allegedly found with “electronic espionage equipment” and has since “confessed.”
The suspect was reportedly detained on June 16, the fourth day of the 12-Day War, a conflict marked by Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and a massive Iranian missile barrage against Israel.
Rights groups and the Swedish government have expressed deep skepticism regarding the “confession,” noting Iran’s history of extracting statements under duress. The case is being handled by Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court, a venue frequently used for security-related trials that international observers say lack due process.
| Case Detail | Iranian Prosecution Claim | Swedish/Rights Group Perspective |
| Recruitment | Recruited by Mossad in 2023. | Unverified; common charge for dual nationals. |
| Arrest Date | June 16, 2025 (Day 4 of the war). | Part of a wave of 21,000 “security” detentions. |
| Evidence | Confession and electronic devices. | Confessions likely coerced; dual nationals often targeted. |
| Current Status | Verdict expected/issued (Death Sentence). | Unconfirmed; ambassador summoned in protest. |
The current crisis follows a complex history of prisoner exchanges. In June 2024, Iran released two Swedes—including EU diplomat Johan Floderus—in exchange for Hamid Noury, a former Iranian official convicted in Sweden for war crimes.
However, another Swedish-Iranian academic, Ahmadreza Djalali, has remained on death row in Iran since 2017. Experts suggest Tehran may be using this new detention as fresh leverage in its ongoing “hostage diplomacy” strategy.
“Tehran treats dual citizens solely as Iranian nationals, refusing to recognize their second citizenship,” noted a representative from Human Rights Watch. “This allows them to systematically violate due process away from consular eyes.”
With at least nine executions already carried out in Iran for alleged spying since the June war, the Swedish government is under intense domestic pressure to prevent another judicial killing.