A veteran Swedish diplomat recently arrested on suspicion of espionage has died days after being released from police custody, his lawyer has revealed.
Sweden’s Sapo security service detained the man, who has not been named, on Sunday and kept him for questioning until Wednesday. He was released the same day, subject to investigation the country’s prosecution service has said.
Police told Swedish outlet Svenska Dagbladet they had now opened an investigation into his death, but “there is no suspicion a crime has been committed”.
“I heard the tragic news this morning and my thoughts go to his family,” his lawyer, Anton Strand, told Reuters. The diplomat had denied any wrongdoing and had made a complaint against the police over the handling of the case, Mr Strand said. He also sought medical help after his release from custody.
Mr Strand added that “the relatives also want me to closely follow the police report about assault and misconduct that their relative has already filed”.
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, Tobias Thyberg, last week.
Mr Thyberg left his role after just a day, following sensitive images of him from a dating app being leaked to the government and media.
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,” the ministry said in a statement. “Out of concern for the relatives we will refrain from giving further detail.”
A spokesperson for the Swedish security services said they could not name the person in question.
“I cannot go into any detail about the investigation,” the spokesperson added. “There has been a gag order regarding the interrogations that have happened.”
