A top Swedish diplomat has been found dead after being arrested on suspicion of espionage.
Sweden’s SAPO security service had detained the man on Sunday and kept him for questioning until Wednesday, when he was released, although he remained subject to investigation, the country’s prosecution service said.
The crimes were reportedly committed between May 1 and May 11 this month.
They would not, however, confirm whether the diplomat who died was the same man they arrested.
‘We have seen this information that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that an employee has died,’ SAPO spokesperson Johan Wikström said.
‘We cannot confirm that this is the person who was previously arrested and suspected of espionage.’
His lawyer Anton Strand paid tribute to his client but declined to comment on the cause of the man’s death.
‘I cannot go into any detail about the investigation. There has been a gag order regarding the interrogations that have been held,’ he added.
However, he noted that the diplomat went to the hospital as soon as he was released, and subsequently filed a police report against the force for misconduct and assault.
The Swedish man’s lawyer Anton Strand paid tribute to his client but declined to comment on the cause of the man’s death
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet: ‘I have been reached by the sad news that an employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has passed away’
Police spokesman Daniel Wikdahl said his force had opened a probe into the man’s death but did ‘not suspect any crime’
Strand vowed to ‘closely follow’ the report on the wishes of the diplomat’s relatives.
Public broadcaster SVT has reported that the diplomat had served at several Swedish embassies and that SAPO was investigating a potential connection to the resignation of the government’s national security adviser last week.
Tobias Thyberg resigned hours after being unveiled in his role due to ‘images of a sensitive nature’, according to Swedish media.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet: ‘I have been reached by the sad news that an employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has passed away.
‘My thoughts are with the employee’s family, friends and colleagues.’
Police spokesman Daniel Wikdahl said his force had opened a probe into the man’s death but did ‘not suspect any crime’.
‘We do not need to suspect any crime to open an investigation, we do that when someone dies outside the hospital,’ he added.
Sweden’s foreign ministry confirmed that one of its employees had died but declined to comment further.
‘We can regrettably confirm that an employee of the foreign service has passed away,’ they told Reuters.
‘Out of concern for the relatives we will refrain from giving further detail.’
