1998. Mahmoud Reza Beirani, who was convicted of a serious drug offense and sentenced to life imprisonment from Sweden, flies to Iran together with two officials from the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's transport service.

But he is not admitted to the country as he lacks ID documents - and has to travel back to Sweden.

In the years following the failed deportation, there has been a tenacious power struggle between the Swedish police and the Iranian authorities.

The Iranian embassy demands more information.

New flights are booked and canceled.

The police officer in charge, Tore Persson, tells how he feels left behind while waiting for Iran to establish Beirani's identity. 

- I could not start barking at them, then I would have ruined the opportunities to continue the conversations, says Tore Persson.

"I no longer exist"

In 2005, Tore Persson wrote to the government that the deportation could not be carried out.

Iran has still not established Mahmoud Reza Beirani's identity.

Some time later he retires. 

Then it will be some time before 2017 before anything is done again - when Beirani himself contacts the police.

It has been 11 years since he last heard anything.

He's had enough of waiting.

- When I get there, the girl goes and picks up my case from the archive.

They had filed my case.

It's like I'm dead, I no longer exist, says Mahmoud Reza Beirani.

The police apologize

Ulrika Johansson, head of the border police in Region East, says that it is regrettable. 

- We have, unfortunately, I must say, had a long period where we have not worked with the case.

That we have not worked with it is not so strange.

We have had prioritization of cases, of course, but on the other hand we should of course have had contact with Beirani to a greater extent than we have had, she says.

In the autumn of 2017, Mahmoud Reza Beirani will accompany the police to the Iranian embassy on two occasions.

At the first visit, he is not willing to return, a requirement Iran has to bring home citizens.

But on the second visit, Beirani asks the embassy for help.

He has brought a copy of his mother's ID document, but the embassy is still not satisfied.

It will be until September 2020, after Assignment Review contacted the embassy, ​​before announcing that they have established Beirani's identity.

But the demand for voluntariness remains - and Beirani today does not want to travel back as he believes that after more than 30 years in Sweden he has no connection to Iran.

Read a longer article about the Beirani case here.