The body of the Swiss who died in prison in Iran is being transferred – rts.ch

“The Swiss embassy is awaiting the results of the investigations carried out by the Iranian authorities in connection with the arrest and death of the Swiss national,” said a spokesperson for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Bern demanded from Tehran detailed information on the reasons for the arrest of its national and a full investigation into the circumstances of his death.

According to official information from Iran, this 64-year-old Swiss man committed suicide in Semnan prison, 200 kilometers from Tehran, last Thursday. According to the DFA, this man, who had not resided in Switzerland for almost 20 years and most recently lived in southern Africa, was staying in Iran as a tourist.

Bern was only informed on December 10 of this man’s arrest on suspicion of espionage. According to the Nurnews portal, which maintains good contacts with the Iranian security apparatus, he was arrested in particular for having secretly taken soil samples in a desert region during the Israeli air attack against Iran at the end of October 2024.

A precedent

The two foreign policy committees of the Federal Parliament will look into the matter at their meetings in January. This is not the first Swiss to die in Iran. In 2021, a 51-year-old diplomat working for the Swiss embassy was found dead in front of her building in Tehran. She had fallen from the 17th floor.

>> Read again on this subject: Investigation opened in Iran after the death of a Swiss diplomat in Tehran

The investigation was complicated by the absence of organs after the first autopsy in Iran. At the end of December 2024, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office closed proceedings on suspicion of homicide. It assumes that the death is most likely a suicide.

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