The fate of the humanitarian Olivier Vandecasteele, imprisoned in Tehran, is suspended in the examination of an agreement.
by Jean-Pierre Stroobants (Brussels, correspondent)
Gravity could be read on the face of the ten judges of the Belgian Constitutional Court, during the hearing of Wednesday, February 15 devoted to examination of the treaty on an exchange of prisoners with Iran that the Minister of the Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, presented as the means of obtaining the release of Olivier Vandecasteele, 42, a humanitarian worker held in this country. The latter, arrested on February 26, 2022 under a futile reason, saw his initial conviction to twenty-eight years’ imprisonment for “espionage” carried, in January, to forty years and 74 lashes for “whitening” and “smuggling “.
The pressure that the judges undergo is strong: in addition to civil society, non -governmental organizations, presidents of party, academics, lawyers and actors in the cultural world pushes them to review a judgment they adopted the December 8, 2022, suspending the transfer agreement with Iran, and which is seen by the family and relatives of Olivier Vandecasteele as an obstacle to its possible liberation. Disappointed by the court’s decision (which will make a final judgment by March 8), the latter launched a large call for mobilization. Since then, the Minister of Justice promises to “do everything” to obtain the release of the Belgian hostage “respecting the Constitution”. It is difficult to represent what would be the way to achieve this result, apart from a court decision which would reverse the one it adopted in December. 2> “blackmail”
The judges had been seized of a request filed by representatives of the National Council of the Iranian Resistance (CNRI), training of the Iranian opposition in exile including the mujahideen of the people and a dozen international personalities. All believed that the Belgian government could not exchange the humanitarian worker for the organizer of an attack – as established by justice – which was to aim for a CNRI rally on June 30, 2018 in Villepinte (Seine -Saint -Denis) , in France, during an opposition meeting to the mullahs regime.
The attack was thwarted in extremis and Assadolah Assadi, 51, in office at the Iranian Embassy in Vienna and coordinator of the whole operation, was arrested in Germany a few hours after the failure of this project Extremely strong devastating potential, according to experts. Agent of the intelligence services of his country and expert in explosives, he was delivered to Belgium and sentenced to twenty years of detention, in February 2021, by the Antwerp court. He has constantly refused to appear while threatening Belgium with reprisals. Three of his accomplices were also judged and condemned.
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