2023-05-28 14:56:14
On Friday, Olivier Vandecasteele was released after 455 days of detention in Iran. He was exchanged for Assadolah Assadi, whose repatriation Tehran was trying to obtain by all means.
To carry out the operation transparently and in accordance with the rule of law, the government had favored the path of a prisoner transfer treaty with Iran. Faced with delays in implementation and the risk of an appeal from the Iranian opposition, mobilized to avoid the repatriation of the diplomat, the Belgian authorities finally resorted to Article 167 of the Constitution – which entrusts the executive with the conduct of Belgium’s foreign relations – to get Assadi out of his cell and transfer him.
The Belgian government bears full responsibility for any crimes that may result.
Ingrid Betancourt had already strongly denounced the conclusion of the agreement with Iran.
In a statement sent to the press on Sunday, she considers that releasing a terrorist “flouts justice and the rule of law, and rewards the Iranian regime’s policy of blackmail“.
According to the former hostage of the Colombian peasant guerrillas Farc, this decision tarnishes Belgium’s reputation as a country that respects the rule of law. “The release of a dangerous terrorist like Assadi will encourage the Iranian regime for more terrorism in Europe and more hostage-taking in the future.“, she adds.”The Belgian government bears full responsibility for any crimes that may result.“
Ingrid Betancourt spoke on the subject in particular because she was present during the large gathering of Iranian opponents in Villepinte, France, in June 2018, which Assadolah Assadi was targeting, to commit a bomb attack. Ingrid Betancourt, was a civil party during the trial. She also announces to examine the options “to claim justice, whether in Belgium or before the European Court of Human Rights“.
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