Iran says ex-prison official serving life sentence in Sweden freed as part of exchange

Courtroom sketch shows Iranian defendant Hamid Noury (2nd from left) sitting in the District Court of Stockholm with his defense attorney Daniel Marcus (3rd from left) on the opening of his trial for war crimes and murder, on August 10, 2021. (Anders Humlebo/AFP)
Courtroom sketch shows Iranian defendant Hamid Noury (2nd from left) sitting in the District Court of Stockholm with his defense attorney Daniel Marcus (3rd from left) on the opening of his trial for war crimes and murder, on August 10, 2021. (Anders Humlebo/AFP)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran says that Hamid Noury, a former Iranian prison official jailed for life in Sweden, has been freed and will return to the Islamic Republic soon, as part of a prisoner swap.

“Hamid Noury, who has been in illegal detention in Sweden since 2019, is free and will return to the country in a few hours,” Kazem Gharibabadi, head of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, said in a post on social media platform X.

Noury was sentenced to life in jail for crimes against humanity and war crimes for being involved in what a Swedish court heard were the executions of a large number of prisoners in the 1980s.

In exchange, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says two Swedes who were detained in Iran, Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi, were on their way back to Sweden.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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