Brussels Reviews Iran's Request to Exchange Assadollah Assadi for Belgian Humanitarian Worker

The Belgian Prime Minister announced on Thursday that his country is reviewing the Islamic Republic's request to exchange Assadollah Assadi for Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian humanitarian worker imprisoned in Iran. Alexander De Croo stated that Mr. Vandecasteele has been 'taken hostage' and reiterated the call for his immediate release. The Belgian Prime Minister's comments come just a day after the Belgian government's statement that Assadollah Assadi would not be released soon. Previously, Masoud Setayesh, spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary, mentioned on Wednesday regarding the possibility of exchanging Olivier Vandecasteele with Assadollah Assadi: 'A 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.' The Belgian Constitutional Court approved the prisoner exchange agreement between the two countries in March of this year, which faced widespread 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 People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, 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. Olivier Vandecasteele, 42, was arrested in February 2022 and sentenced to 40 years in prison on charges of 'espionage.' Western countries refer to the imprisonment of their citizens by the Islamic Republic as 'political hostage-taking' and have repeatedly called on the Islamic Republic to end this 'oppressive' practice. However, the Islamic Republic continues to detain and imprison Western and dual-national citizens on charges such as 'acts against national security,' rejecting the views of Western parties and without providing any evidence. The stepdaughter of the imprisoned Belgian humanitarian worker in Iran has confined herself for 24 hours. Belgium has demanded the release of its imprisoned citizen in Iran. The fifth year of Imad Sharqi's imprisonment; Senator Menendez: 'The Iranian regime' detains the innocent to gain political leverage. The daughter of Morad Tahbaz, an environmental activist imprisoned in Iran: My father has cancer. The U.S. described Iran's claim regarding an agreement for 'prisoner exchange' as 'storytelling.' The U.S. Senate is seeking to pass a law to support Americans imprisoned in other countries. The Belgian Constitutional Court rejected the request to annul the 'prisoner exchange treaty with Iran.'