Swedish Migration Agency employee dismissed for allegedly passing migrant information to Iran
An employee of the Swedish Migration Agency has been dismissed on charges of transferring confidential information about Iranian dissidents and asylum seekers to Iranian intelligence agents.
Swedish network TV4 reported that this individual had access to information regarding opponents of the Iranian government and Iranian, and in some cases Afghan, asylum seekers in Sweden, and is accused of providing some of this information to an Iranian intelligence agent.
According to this report, the Swedish Security Service, SAPO, had been monitoring this individual and it is said that he has been in contact with Iranian intelligence agents since 2016. SAPO has declined to comment on this case.
The employee has denied the charges, stating that he is an opponent of the Iranian government and a supporter of Reza Pahlavi, but the court has deemed his dismissal legal.
In its verdict, the court wrote that the common thread in this case was the Iranian government’s interest in accessing Migration Agency information about Iranian government critics in Sweden, Kurds, and some Afghan asylum seekers, and this employee’s access to such information.