Iran Prisoner Says Sweden Left Him Behind in Jail

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Prisoner Says Sweden Left Him Behind in Jail

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

A Swedish-Iranian dual national has accused Sweden's prime minister of leaving him out of a prisoner swap in a call from the Iranian jail where he remains incarcerated, daily Expressen reported on Tuesday.

The two countries carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there.

Ahmadreza Djalali, an emergency medicine doctor, remains in Tehran's Evin prison after he was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.

Djalali was sentenced to death in 2022 on charges of spying for Israel, and Iran's judiciary in the same year ruled out a prisoner swap for him.

"You chose to leave me behind, with a high risk of being executed," Djalali said in a telephone conversation with his wife Vida Mehrannia, who recorded it and shared it with the newspaper. His comments were addressed to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, AFP reported.

"I am speaking to you from Evin prison. It's a terrible cave, where I've spent eight years and two months, almost 3,000 days of my life," Expressen quoted him as saying.

"I'm very happy that the other two were released. One Iranian-Swedish, the other Swedish. But it is clearly a case of discrimination," he added.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday that Iran had refused to even consider Djalali a Swedish citizen after he received citizenship in the Nordic country, where he lived and worked prior to his arrest, while in Iranian prison.

Billstrom said in an emailed comment to Reuters on Tuesday that Sweden had not given up on Djalali and would continue efforts to have him freed.

"The government and the security services did everything possible to ensure that Djalali would come home together with Floderus and Azizi," Billstrom said, adding that he was due to have a previously scheduled meeting with Djalali's wife.

"As the prime minister has said, he has a great understanding of the despair Djalali and his family feel. They have our deepest sympathy ... For the sake of Djalali's own safety, we cannot say more than what we have already said."



Ukraine Receives F-16s from Netherlands, 1st Mirage Jets from France

A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carries a Shark reconnaissance drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko
A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carries a Shark reconnaissance drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko
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Ukraine Receives F-16s from Netherlands, 1st Mirage Jets from France

A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carries a Shark reconnaissance drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko
A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carries a Shark reconnaissance drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko

Ukraine said on Thursday it had received a first batch of French Mirage 2000 fighter jets as well as US-made F-16 fighters from the Netherlands as European allies seek to strengthen Kyiv's hand in its war with Russia.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion three years ago, Ukraine had only a largely outdated air force inherited from the Soviet Union when it broke up in 1991.

Now facing Russian advances in the east and long-range air strikes, Ukraine has repeatedly pressed Western allies to supply it with increasingly advanced arms and ammunition including armoured vehicles, tanks, long-range missiles and F-16 fighters.

Mirage 2000s are the latest sophisticated jets Ukraine has received from allies after the first F-16s arrived last summer, marking a military milestone for the country.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised France and the Netherlands for their commitment to helping modernise Ukraine's air force.

"These modern combat aircraft have already arrived in Ukraine and will soon begin carrying out combat missions, strengthening our defense and enhancing our ability to effectively counter Russian aggression," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

The exact number of F-16 and Mirage jets delivered was not revealed.
The Dutch defense ministry said that for security reasons it would not comment on the timing of deliveries, nor on the amount supplied at any given time.

The Netherlands has promised to deliver Ukraine a total of 24 F-16s, next to the fighter jets it supplies to a training center for Ukrainian pilots and crew in Romania.

French officials also cited security reasons in declining to specify how many warplanes had been supplied, although they did say the jets had been adapted to enable air-to-ground strikes, Reuters reported.

The Mirage 2000 is a multi-role, single-engine jet fighter. Last June, President Emmanuel Macron promised that France would train Ukrainian pilots to fly the Dassault-made jets, crossing a new line in military support for Kyiv.

The Mirage, which has been replaced by the Rafale fighter in the French air force, was initially conceived for aerial dogfights.
A French parliamentary report at the end of 2024 said that of the 26 Mirage 2000s in the French air force, six would be given to Ukraine.
France will on February 12 host a meeting with Ukraine, its main European allies, Britain and the United States to discuss how to strengthen support for Kyiv.