Amnesty International Criticizes the Release of Assadollah Assadi: This Action Endangers Opponents of the Islamic Republic

One day after the exchange of a Belgian citizen prisoner with Assadollah Assadi, a former diplomat of the Islamic Republic convicted of terrorist actions, Amnesty International issued a statement criticizing the Belgian government, stating that Assadi's release undermines "the enforcement of justice" and increases the "threat" against opponents of the Islamic Republic. In the statement published on the human rights organization's Twitter account on Friday, it was emphasized that Assadi's release by the Belgian government amounts to granting immunity to the Islamic Republic to continue extrajudicial actions, torture, and other abuses against its Iranian opponents. On Friday, with the mediation of Oman, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Belgian government exchanged two prisoners. Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian humanitarian worker, met with his family in Belgium after his release. The 42-year-old Belgian humanitarian worker was arrested in Bahman 1400 (January 2022) by the security forces of the Islamic Republic and sentenced to "40 years" in prison on charges of "espionage." He was exchanged on Friday, June 5, with Assadollah Assadi, a diplomat of the Islamic Republic who was sentenced to twenty years in prison in a Belgian court for his involvement in a bombing operation against a gathering of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization in Paris. In its statement, Amnesty International criticized the Belgian government, reminding that Assadi's release harmed the victims' right to achieve justice, compensation, and prevent the recurrence of such legal violations. This international human rights organization also considered Assadi's release as a threat to opponents of the Islamic Republic abroad, stating that they are increasingly threatened by agents of the Islamic Republic. Belgium's action in releasing Assadi faced significant reactions. A U.S. State Department spokesperson referred to "the hostage-taking of citizens of other countries by the Iranian government" for potential exchanges with imprisoned citizens of Iran in other countries, telling Voice of America: "This is a glaring and disgusting example of the unjust condemnation of foreign citizens by the Iranian regime to advance political purposes." Darya Safai, a member of the Belgian parliament, also told the Persian section of Voice of America that Assadi is a released terrorist and that this day is a "very bitter and dark" one. Furthermore, Prince Reza Pahlavi reacted to this prisoner exchange by stating that exchanging prisoners with the Islamic Republic encourages the regime to take more hostages.