Kazem Gharibabadi, the Secretary-General of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, announced on Saturday the release of Hamid Nouri from a Swedish prison. Nouri, an Iranian citizen, had been detained in Sweden since 2019 under controversial circumstances.

"I am delighted to inform the esteemed nation of Iran that Mr. Hamid Nouri, who has been under detention in Sweden since 2019, has been released and will be returning to our country within a few hours," Gharibabadi wrote in a post on X. 

خرسندم به اطلاع ملت عزیز ایران برسانم آقای حمید نوری که از سال ۹۸ در سوئد در بازداشت غیر قانونی به سر می برد، آزاد و تا ساعاتی دیگر به کشور بازخواهد گشت. این موفقیت مرهون تلاش همکارانم در قوه قضائیه، وزارت اطلاعات، وزارت خارجه، به خصوص برادرم شهید دکتر امیر عبداللهیان، می باشد.

— Gharibabadi (@Gharibabadi) June 15, 2024

Nouri was arrested upon arrival at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 and has since been held in solitary confinement. Swedish prosecutors had accused him of serious crimes dating back to the 1980s, allegedly involving prisoner abuse during his tenure as an Iranian judiciary official. These charges were based on accusations by members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), a designated terrorist group.

The release of Hamid Nouri marks a significant development in Iran's efforts to secure the return of its citizens detained abroad.

On a related note, the Swedish prime minister announced that Swedish citizens Johan Floderus and Saaed Azizi have been released from detention in Iran as they were accused of espionage.

Det är med glädje jag kan meddela att Johan Floderus och Saeed Azizi nu är på ett plan hem till Sverige, och snart ska få återförenas med sina familjer. pic.twitter.com/95WqTTCEtp

— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) June 15, 2024

Read more: Hamid Nouri breaks record for solitary confinement in Sweden