TRANSCRIPT
Fereydoon Najafi came face to face with his former jailor when he appeared as a witness in the Swedish trial of Iranian official Hamid Nouri, found guilty in 2022 of war crimes and mass murder - for his role in the 1988 executions of at least 5000 political prisoners in Iran.
It's a fate Fereydoon narrowly escaped.
"He hit us, he tortured us, whatever he can he did."
But Nouri’s release in a prisoner swap for two Swedish citizens held in Iran has been described by survivors and witnesses as a miscarriage of justice.
"He should be in jail for life. Very, very cold blood."
This is Iraj Mesdaghi, another witness of the 1988 executions and a former political prisoner based in Sweden.
"The government of Sweden gave amnesty to Hamid Nouri, and this is a disaster. This is a tragedy for justice."
It’s a display of hostage diplomacy - a strategy experts describe as a centrepiece of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy approach.
Dara Conduit is a Middle East specialist at the University of Melbourne.
"They will use those people as bargaining chips to extract some sort of concessions from their home country they’ve led to the release of terrorists, to the release of billions of dollars of funds in exchange for the freedom of innocent nationals. It’s actually a business model, and a highly profitable business model."
A model that experts say has been brazenly used for the last forty years.
"There’s very little reason for Iran, based on this experience, to not do it again, there have been no consequences for them, just pay offs."
Sweden’s deal is the latest in a list of countries who have engaged with hostage diplomacy.
Australia’s most recent involvement was with the release of academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert in 2020 - exchanged in a prisoner swap for three Iranian convicted terrorists, sentenced in connection with a 2012 bomb plot in Thailand.
In a statement to SBS, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said “Foreigners in Iran, including Australians, are at a high risk of arbitrary detention or arrest. Australia stands resolutely against the use of arbitrary detention, arrest and sentencing to exercise diplomatic leverage.”
A source has told SBS at least one Australian is still being held in an Iranian prison - though DFAT has not confirmed this.
For those still held in Iran - human rights groups warn the situation is critical.
This message from Iranian-Swedish disaster medicine specialist Ahmadreza Djalali,
He's still held in Iran on charges of espionage, selling information to Israel and ‘corruption on earth’.
His release was not secured by Sweden in the latest prisoner swap.
"Mr Prime Minister, you decided to leave me behind under a huge risk of being executed. You left me here helpless. Why not me after 3000 days?"
This is Nikita White, Amnesty International Australia's International Issues Campaigner.
"We are concerned that he could be executed at any moment. He has had numerous requests for judicial review denied, and what we are asking the Swedish authority to do is continue to advocate for his release, for him not to be executed."
An urgent call for action in a diplomatic game of the highest stakes.
