Turkish authorities confirm that eleven people were arrested two weeks ago, accused of involvement in the kidnapping of Chaab, which was probably carried out in October, writes AFP.

Chaab is accused in Iran of being a leader in the separatist movement ASMLA, which is branded as a terrorist organization in Iran.

Attracted to Turkey

Chaab is said to have been lured to Turkey by people who have worked for Iranian intelligence, according to Turkish information.

At the meeting, Chaab was drugged, and is then said to have been taken to Iran, where he was handed over to the Iranian security service.

Media reports claim that the perpetrators collaborated with a suspected drug smuggler, reports both AFP and Reuters.

Iran has not confirmed the information, which was first published by The Washington Post.

Chaab is alleged by Iran to have been involved in an act in 2018 in Ahvaz, in the province of Khuzestan, in which 25 people were killed.

Many of the victims belonged to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

The separatist movement ASMLA wants to see an independent state in the province.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms

The Swedish Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Chaab is imprisoned.

Iranian television is said to have shown a feature in which he presents a confession of crime.

The recognition is believed to have been forced, according to assessors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is following the case in parallel with the Swedish-Iranian KI researcher and doctor Ahmadreza Djalali, who has been sentenced to death and where information has claimed that an execution may be imminent.

The Turkish decision to arrest several people who are also accused of espionage comes at the same time as the situation between Iran and Turkey has worsened.

The deteriorating relationship concerns, among other things, the indirect power struggle in the Azerbaijani breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, where Turkey actively supports Azerbaijan.

Iran has caused international outrage following the execution of opposition journalist Ruhollah Zam on Saturday, who was also abducted and taken to Iran.

Zam lived in exile in France, but was abducted during a trip to Iraq last year.