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Johan Floderus, who was arrested at Tehran airport in April of last year, is accused of using American and European jobs.
Iran says it has started the trial of a Swedish citizen working in the European Union who is accused of spying for Israel and “corruption in the world”, a crime that carries the death penalty.
Johan Floderus was charged “based on corruption on the surface, increased actions against national security (and) general collaboration with the Zionist regime”, a statement to Israel, the official Iran’s court news agency Mizan said in an online report on Sunday.
Surface corruption is a serious crime under Iran’s Islamic law.
Floderus, 33, was arrested on April 17, 2022, at Tehran airport as he was returning to Iran from a trip with friends. The Swede, who works for the EU diplomatic service, is being held in Evin prison in Tehran.
Mizan posted photos of Floderus standing in front of the jury in a navy blue uniform as the charges were read.
The court of Iran, in a statement, said Floderus was operated by the projects of the United States and European organizations to collect intelligence for Israel.
Iranian officials say he was in contact with several European and non-European suspects in Iran and visited Israel, Iran’s enemy, before visiting Iran. The statement accused Sweden of spying for Israel.
Sweden said on Sunday that Floderus’ trial had begun in Iran but did not say what he was charged with.
“Johan Floderus was arrested unexpectedly and all allegations and charges are false,” said a spokesman for Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an email to the Reuters news agency.
“We have made this clear to Iran on various occasions and occasions, the most recent of which was yesterday (Saturday).”
Floderus’ family said he was detained “without proper reason or due process.”
EU policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday called for his immediate release, saying “there is absolutely no reason for keeping Johan Floderus in prison”.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom added: “There is no basis for keeping Johan Floderus in prison, only to bring him to court.”
Human rights groups and Western governments have accused Iran of trying to evade political sanctions from other countries by drawing on security charges that may have been imposed.
Tehran says the arrests are based on its criminal laws and denies arresting people for political reasons.
Relations between Sweden and Iran have been strained since 2019 when Sweden arrested Hamid Noury, a former Iranian for his part in the mass killings and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Noury eventually received a suspended sentence in July 2022. The Court of Appeal in Sweden is expected to announce a decision on the case on December 19.
In May this year, Iran killed the Swedish-Iranian activist Habib Farajollah Chaab, accused of leading a separatist group that Tehran blamed for several attacks, including one on a military parade in 2018 that killed 25 people.