“With the decision of the Belgian Constitutional Court, we can say that the way is open to implement the agreement, which the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. , in front of the press. He was referring to the treaty on “the transfer of sentenced persons” concluded between Brussels and Tehran, which has caused controversy since it was made public last summer.
The Belgian Court decided on Friday to reject the action for annulment filed by Iranian opponents in exile once morest this treaty, which had been “suspended” in December 2022.
Olivier Vandecasteele might be exchanged for Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat sentenced in 2021 to twenty years in prison by a Belgian court. Considered an intelligence agent, he was found guilty of having planned an explosive attack which was to target on June 30, 2018 the large annual gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) near Paris.
Regarding Mr. Assadi, “we have said on several occasions that his arrest, interrogation, trial and conviction were illegal and in violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic immunity”, recalled Mr. Kanani.
“We said he should be released unconditionally and that compensation should be paid,” he added. “With the recent change, we hope there will be an opening in the case of this diplomat,” he concluded.
