Iran said Monday that it was ready for a possible exchange for the prisoners With Belgium after the Belgian Constitutional Court approved an exchange of convicts with Tehran.
During a press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, “After the decision of the Belgian Constitutional Court, we can say that the way is paved for the implementation of the agreement that the Islamic Republic welcomes,” referring to the “transfer of convicted persons” agreement concluded between Brussels and Tehran, which has sparked great controversy since its announcement. Last summer.
It is noteworthy that the Belgian Supreme Court announced on Friday that it had “rejected an appeal” filed by Iranian opponents in exile to cancel the agreement, after it “suspended” the agreement in December 2022.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, an opposition coalition in exile, has challenged the agreement in several courts and saw it as a prelude to the release of imprisoned Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi.
For its part, the Belgian government considers the agreement a way to release aid worker Olivier Vandecastel, who has been imprisoned in Iran since February 24 and has been sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison for “espionage”.
Vandecastel could be exchanged with my lion, who was sentenced by a Belgian court in 2021 to twenty years in prison for “terrorism”.
The diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, was convicted in 2021 of contributing to a plot to bomb a gathering of the Iranian opposition council in the suburbs of Paris on June 30, 2018.
Kanani considered that “Asadi’s arrest is illegal,” adding, “We have said on several occasions that his arrest, interrogation, trial and conviction (procedures) are illegal and constitute a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Immunity.” He added, “He must be released unconditionally and with compensation.”
“With the recent change, we hope that this diplomat’s case will see breakthroughs,” Kanaani added.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo, in a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi last week, called for the “immediate” release of the aid worker, denouncing his “inhumane conditions of imprisonment.”
Vandecastel is being held in complete isolation and has no access to healthcare, according to his relatives.
France 24/AFP