2023-05-28 10:48:00
Incarcerated in inhuman conditions for 455 days, the Belgian humanitarian “was really in a difficult state (of health) and we knew that there was not much patience left on the other side”, explained Mr. De Croo, interviewed at the start of the 20 km from Brussels. Using the transfer procedure would have created “danger for Olivier, because we would have needed weeks of debate”, according to the head of government.
Olivier Vandecasteele was exchanged with the Iranian diplomat convicted of terrorism Assadolah Assadi. As to whether the government could not have had recourse earlier to Article 167 (which entrusts the executive with the conduct of Belgium’s external relations) to get Assadi out of his cell and transfer him, “we wanted to follow a parliamentary procedure, do it within the framework of the law and in a democratic way; the debate in Parliament was not easy, but there was a majority to use this transfer agreement”.
“It’s a very very very difficult dilemma, but at some point I made up my mind: you don’t abandon a Belgian, an innocent person. I’ve heard a lot of people say ‘we have to free Olivier’, but nobody explained to me how,” added Alexander De Croo. The Prime Minister assured that he had no regrets, “but we will do the analysis in the weeks and months to come”.
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