Iranian Envoy to Sweden Recalled for Consultations
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the country’s ambassador to Sweden has been called back to Tehran for consultations on a Swedish court’s life imprisonment for Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to call the ambassador of our country to Sweden for some consultations in protest at the illegal statement and sentence issued in Sweden against Mr. Hamid Nouri, which is based on baseless, distorted and fabricated accusations," Nasser Kanaani said on Wednesday.
Ambassador Ahmad Masoumifar was recalled after a Stockholm court on Thursday sentenced Nouri, 61, to life in prison on baseless accusations brought by the terrorist MKO group.
His accusers allege that Nouri was involved in the execution and torture of MKO members in 1988. Nouri has vehemently rejected the allegation.
Nouri was arrested upon arrival in Sweden at Stockholm Airport in November 2019, during a visit to sort out his adopted daughter's family disputes. He had been held in solitary confinement since.
Shortly before the sentence, Nouri had given details of his physical torture at the hands of his jailers during a short phone contact with his family.
He also complained that no human rights organization had visited him during his long-running solitary confinement.
The Islamic Republic has dismissed the Swedish court's sentence as illegal and called for Nouri's immediate release.
On Friday, Iran's top rights official lambasted the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran for hailing Nouri's life sentence.
“It is extremely disappointing that Javid Rehman has chosen to publicly support arbitrary detention and sham trial of an Iranian citizen instead of calling out the Swedish authorities and holding them to account for the gross violations of fundamental human rights of the victim,” Kazem Gharibabadi said.
Gharibabadi also wrote to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, expressing his “deep concern” about gross human rights violations committed by Swedish authorities against Nouri.
