2023-04-23 17:02:59
It was a little after 6 p.m. this Sunday evening when Manon, the goddaughter of Olivier Vandecasteele, left his prison in the Grand-Place in Tournai. She directly kissed her parents Joris and Nathalie before bursting into tears in her brother’s arms. “It was moving”, confirms the young girl after 24 hours blindfolded in this cage.
His goal was by no means to shed light on her. “It is Olivier that you should have seen in this cage”, insists his dad, Joris Brabant. This week, this dad made a 2m2 prison for his daughter, while crying. “Olivier is his god, his love godfather. But it’s horrible to build a prison for your daughter. We don’t make children to lock them up. But by doing so, I had no doubt about Manon’s intentions and will. She was going to take up the challenge, she will not abandon her godfather. But now, after all these difficult times, we need something concrete, we need the government to bring us good news, for Olivier’s two feet to touch Belgian soil”.
“Free Oliver”
Olivier’s entire family is now waiting for the Government to act, for the political world to assume its human responsibilities. The large crowd shouts “free Olivier”, tears run down their faces while Manon recharges her batteries with her family after trying hours. “I know why I did it,” the girl said, “I knew it was going to be tough. Locked up, I did not see what my image returned. It must have been degrading and humiliating. This is what Olivier has been experiencing for too long in his prison in Iran, things have to move and quickly. I apologize to my family for putting them through this.”
Nathalie Vandecasteele, his mother, remembers a beautiful moment of these 24 hours. “This Saturday evening, it was really very beautiful when her brother stood in front of her, it was really touching. It’s something we experienced as a family. Manon spent 24 hours in this prison to be able to show that what Olivier saw there was nothing comparable to what she endured”.
” It’s enough ”
The objective of the action is to denounce the slowness of the procedures to release Olivier Vandecasteele. In her dungeon, Manon has tried to channel the pain and worry that have been growing since February 26, 2022, when she learned of the arrest by the Iranian authorities of her godfather. He has been detained for more than 420 days.
“My daughter had a deadline, 24 hours. Olivier has had no prospects for more than 400 days”, resumes Joris Brabant, “that’s enough. There is no improvement. Olivier is very badly. The Government must do everything possible to bring Olivier back to his family. There were a lot of people on the Grand-Place this Sunday evening, but it is throughout the country that citizens are mobilizing. I take this opportunity to say thank you to them”. Friday Manon will go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deposit all the letters of support collected during her action.
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