When Johan Floderu’s parents visit Carina Bergfeldt in SVT this week, they carry the phone with them the whole time. They hope the son will call from prison in Iran.
– Now it has been two weeks since anyone in the family heard anything from him. And when a couple of weeks have passed when he hasn’t been allowed to call, he usually starts a hunger strike, says Kerstin Floderus.
Usually have to go on hunger strike
The parents say that it often happens that when he does get to call them, it requires a hunger strike.
– He has had to call us maybe about 15 times, and at least seven of the occasions are after he has been on hunger strike, says Johan Floderus’ father Matts Floderus.
Arrested during tourist trip
Their son was working on aid issues in the EU when he was arrested and imprisoned during a stay in Iran in April 2022. The country accuses him of espionage, but according to experts, the arrest is rather part of a political game.
From the person sent by Sweden who was allowed to be present during the trial in Iran to a limited extent, the parents have received the message that Johan Floderus is not very alert anymore.
– We think he has managed to maintain a very high level, those are levels in hell. But now we are afraid that things will happen, says Matts Floderus.
Watch Carina Bergfeldt on SVT play or on SVT 1 on 26/1 at 21.00.
