By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Monday she has been in weekly contact with the family of an EU diplomat who had been detained by Iran for over 500 days.
Speaking at a news conference, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs confirmed that Johan Floderus used to work for her Cabinet and called him a “friend.”
Her remarks came after several media outlets reported last week that Floderus, a Swedish national employed by the EU's diplomatic service, had been detained in Iran over charges of spying since last year.
According to the reports, Floderus was arrested in April 2022 at Tehran's airport while returning from a vacation in Iran.
“I and my head of Cabinet, we have been in close connection with his family, on a weekly basis,” Johansson said.
Johansson, a Swedish member of the European Commission, explained that Floderus had been part of her Cabinet from the beginning of her term in 2019.
She described him as a “very bright, very warm, and excellent person to work with.”
Floderus decided to move on with his career and join the EU’s diplomatic representation in Afghanistan two years ago, and wasn’t a member of her team when he “got caught in Iran,” she explained.
Johansson stressed that she sees her role as a supporter of Floderus’ family, adding that it is the Swedish Foreign Ministry and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who are holding talks with Iranian authorities for his release.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Johansson said she was “very sad, very worried” for her former colleague who yesterday spent “his second birthday in jail.”
Borrell said last week that EU diplomacy “will not stop” until Iran releases Floderus.