Saeed Azizi was arrested in Iran last fall and sentenced to five years in prison. But yesterday he had to come home to Sweden again after a prisoner exchange with Iran.
– I haven’t had time to digest it yet. I am in Sweden, but my thoughts and feelings are still over there. It was only when they drove us to the airport in Tehran that I learned that I would be released, says Saeed Azizi in an exclusive interview with Expressen.
He tells how he was arrested during a visit to his former homeland, suspected of collusion with the intelligence service in Sweden. He was immediately transported to the isolation ward at Evin Prison.
– It was hell on earth. Everything was dark. Already after the first four days I lost count of the days. I had to be in a dark cell that was one by two meters cramped. I was subjected to cruel interrogations. Three to four hours each, Saeed Azizi told the newspaper.
Shared cell with Johan Floderus
Swedish EU official Johan Floderus was also allowed to return home to Sweden after 790 days in Evin Prison. Azizi tells how he and Johan had to share a cell for 16 days.
– It felt better when we met and we had each other to talk to. After five or six days, Johan told me that we are in the same boat. We will not be released. We are hostages here.
But yesterday, June 15, the prisoner exchange took place with Iran and the lifer Hamid Noury. Late in the evening, both Saeed Azizi and Johan Floderus were reunited with their families at Arlanda.
– It was an incredibly moving meeting at Arlanda. First they met the two families who were waiting at Arlanda. Incomparably moving, incredibly nice, said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M).