TEHRAN – Hamid Nouri, an Iranian man recently released from Swedish jail after over 4.5 years of illegal detention, has shared his harrowing account of the mistreatment he endured behind bars. 

In an interview with Daneshjoo news agency, Nouri described a brutal reality of physical and psychological torture, highlighting the callous indifference of his captors.

"In prison, I was beaten and subjected to psychological torture," Nouri revealed. "One day, three large-framed male guards along with a woman came to my cell, stripped me naked, and severely beat me for 20 to 30 minutes." He reported this incident to the Swedish judge during one of his hearings, but his pleas were met with complete disregard. 

Nouri described the deliberate deprivation of basic necessities, including the denial of a pen for two and a half years. “After persistent requests, I was finally granted a single pen that was so worn and unusable it made writing an arduous task,” he stated. For 25 months, Nouri was denied contact with his family, and even after seven months of enforced isolation, phone calls with his wife were restricted to mere ten-minute intervals.

The Iranian national was also denied medical aid when was having issues with his hearing and vision after getting beaten by Swedish guards, he said during the interview. 

According to previous revelations by Nouri’s lawyer, the Iranian citizen broke the record for the longest solitary confinement in Swedish history during his detention, spending 1,295 days alone in a 7-square-meter cell.

Nouri was arrested in 2019 by Swedish police upon his arrival at Stockholm Airport based on complaints filed by the Mujahideen-e-Khalq terror organization. 

The MKO is responsible for the killing of over 17,000 Iranian citizens and officials during the 1980s. Its members now live in exile and are scattered across Western countries. It was once recognized as a terrorist group internationally, but Western states pushed for its removal from the list of terror organizations after they figured they could use the group to carry out their anti-Iran operations. 

In July 2022 Nouri was sentenced to life in prison based on allegations put forth by the MKO. The terrorist group claimed the ex-judiciary official was involved in the executions of its members in the 1980s. 

While the rationale behind Western criticism of Iran's execution of terrorists involved in heinous bloody attacks against its citizens remains a topic of debate, Nouri vehemently denied any involvement in the trials of MKO members, describing the accusations against him as "fabrications."

During the interview with Iranian media, Nouri also provided details on his court hearings, explaining how he was denied the right to a fair defense. “The legal process felt like a pre-written farce. I was denied the opportunity to defend myself, and the Swedish judicial system only considered the statements of the lawyer, ignoring my own arguments. It’s important to note that this lawyer was appointed by the prosecutor, who was also the complainant in my case,” he revealed.

The ex-Judiciary official noted that his trial too, set a record in Swedish legal history with a total of 131 court sessions held.

Nouri was released from Swedish jail last month and was immediately brought back to Iran.