Belgium: Iranian Diplomat Convicted in Terrorism Case Will Not Be Released Soon

The Belgian government announced on Wednesday that Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorist crimes, will not be released soon in a prisoner exchange between the two countries. Earlier, Iran's judiciary spokesman, Masoud Setayesh, in a press conference on Wednesday, responded to a question about the possibility of exchanging a Belgian citizen imprisoned in Iran for Assadollah Assadi, stating, "The prisoner exchange agreement between Iran and Belgium has been concluded and finalized, and the documents have been exchanged," adding, "The other party had requested (the exchange), and we also raised this request, and soon, according to the promise we made earlier, this exchange will take place." A few days prior, Belgium announced that it had officially requested from Tehran to release Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian aid worker imprisoned in Iran, as part of the prisoner exchange treaty. According to AFP, Belgian Foreign Minister Hajjah Lhabib said she informed her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, about the "request for the transfer of our compatriot Olivier Vandecasteele." She added, "I condemned the conditions of his detention and requested that our ambassador in Iran meet with this prisoner." The Islamic Republic detained Mr. Vandecasteele, 42, in Bahman 1400 (February 2022) and sentenced him to 40 years in prison on charges of espionage. The Iranian judiciary claims he came to Iran under the guise of humanitarian actions to "distribute money among opposition groups to the government." In contrast, Belgium has consistently emphasized that Olivier Vandecasteele is innocent and has effectively been taken hostage as part of Iran's efforts to pressure Belgium into releasing Assadollah Assadi. Observers of Iranian affairs say the Islamic Republic arrests foreign citizens, especially dual nationals, on fabricated charges to gain leverage in foreign relations and effectively takes those citizens hostage. The possibility of releasing Assadollah Assadi, who was convicted in a high-profile terrorism case, has faced significant opposition. Assadollah Assadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court for allegedly orchestrating a bombing in 2018 at a gathering related to the Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq, in Paris. This Iranian diplomat was accused of providing an explosive weighing half a kilogram to an Iranian couple residing in Belgium to target the organization's conference, which was attended by several American citizens.