CNN
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According to Mizan Online, an Iranian judicial news agency, a Swiss citizen arrested and charged with spying in Iran died by suicide in prison on Thursday.
As quoted by Mizan Online, the chief judge of Iran’s Semnan province said, “All the evidence and documents from where this person was held have been scrutinized and it is clear from the documents that he committed suicide. ”.
According to Mizan Online, the case of the Swiss national, whose identity has not been revealed, is “being reviewed and processed” after he was arrested on suspicion of espionage.
The Swiss Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has confirmed the death of one Swiss citizen in Iran.
“The Swiss embassy in Tehran is in contact with local authorities to clarify the circumstances of the death in an Iranian prison,” the FDFA said in a statement on Thursday.
Semnan Prison is located about 190 kilometers (118 miles) east of Iran’s capital Tehran.
The Swiss inmate at Semnan Prison asked his cellmate to feed him food from the prison buffet on Thursday morning local time, the presiding judge said, as quoted by Mizan Online.
“This prisoner took advantage of the time he was left alone in his cell” to take his own life, the chief justice added.
“Prison officials immediately took action to save this person, but rescue efforts were unsuccessful,” said the chief judge of Iran’s Semnan province.
CNN’s Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.