Olivier Vandecasteele, 41, has been detained in Tehran since February 24, the day he was arrested in the Iranian capital. This aid worker was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison, but due to the confusion of sentences, he is only facing the maximum sentence of 12.5 years.
A showdown has erupted between Brussels and Tehran since the arrest of an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium in 2021 for a planned “terrorist” attack on the Iranian opposition
The latter was convicted of “espionage against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the benefit of a foreign intelligence agency.” The judiciary also sentenced him to 12.5 years in prison for “collaborating with a hostile government, the United States, against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the same source added.
He was further sentenced to 2.5 years in prison and 74 lashes for “professional smuggling of $500,000 in currency” and 12.5 years “for money laundering,” according to Mizan Online. This ruling “is provisional and can be appealed to the Court of Appeal within twenty days,” the agency said.
Arm wrestling between Iran and Belgium
In mid-December, Olivier Vandecasteele’s family announced that he had been sentenced to 28 years in prison, indicating they were unaware of the charges against him. A few days later, Belgium had asked its nationals “passing through Iran” to leave the country “as soon as possible”, citing “increased risks of arbitrary detention” after this conviction.
A showdown has erupted between Brussels and Tehran since the arrest of an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium in 2021 for a planned “terrorist” attack on the Iranian opposition.
In July, the Belgian parliament approved a convict transfer treaty between Belgium and Iran, which would allow the return of Olivier Vandecasteele. However, this agreement was suspended by the constitutional court in early December after numerous appeals by Iranian opponents in exile for fear of being handed over to Tehran and a possible pardon for Assadollah Assadi.
“hostage diplomacy”
Iranian authorities have multiplied arrests of foreigners or people with dual nationality in recent months, blaming Western countries for being in custody since September’s death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for failing to comply with the uprising of the Iranian people to have promoted veils.