In a recent development, an Iranian national, Hamid Noury, who was convicted of war crimes in Sweden, has been released as part of a prisoner exchange between Iran and Sweden. Noury, who had been serving a life sentence, is now returning to Tehran. On the other side, Johan Floderus, a Swedish diplomat, and Saeed Azizi, a dual national of Sweden and Iran, are being sent back to Stockholm.

Noury had been arrested in Sweden in 2019 and found guilty of his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran more than three decades ago. His release, along with the detention of Floderus and Azizi, has strained the already deteriorating relations between Sweden and Iran.

Sweden's Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, criticized Iran's actions, stating that Floderus and Azizi were used as pawns in a cynical negotiation game to secure Noury's release. Kristersson emphasized that Noury had been convicted of serious crimes committed in Iran during the 1980s.

According to Swedish prosecutors, Noury was accused of war crimes and murder in 1988 when he worked as an assistant to the deputy prosecutor at Gohardasht prison in Karaj. This marked the first prosecution of an individual for their participation in the execution of thousands of prisoners, a crime that Iran's establishment has never officially acknowledged. Human rights groups estimate that between 2,800 and 5,000 men and women were executed at various sites, including Gohardasht prison, between July and September 1988.

Noury, now 63 years old, was arrested upon his arrival at Stockholm airport from Iran. Although he denied the charges against him, he was found guilty of "grave breaches of international humanitarian law and murder." His trial was conducted under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute individuals for severe crimes against international law committed elsewhere, including war crimes, genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity.

In parallel, Mr. Floderus, 33 years old, had been facing the death penalty after being arrested in Iran in 2022 on espionage charges while he was on holiday. Meanwhile, Mr. Azizi, an Iranian-Swedish national in his early 60s, was convicted of "assembly and collusion against national security" and had received a five-year prison sentence.

The negotiations for the prisoner swap were facilitated by Oman, who played a crucial role in the recent release of French banker Louis Arnaud, detained in Iran for two years on accusations of participating in anti-government protests.

As the former prisoners return to their respective countries, the international spotlight remains on the complexities of diplomatic negotiations, the pursuit of justice, and the ongoing human rights concerns associated with war crimes and political captivity.