Thwarted attack against the Iranian opposition: heavy prison sentences in Belgium

Three Belgian-Iranians were sentenced on Tuesday May 10 in Belgium to 17 to 18 years in prison for their participation in 2018 in a plan to attack an Iranian opposition rally in France.

All three are also stripped of their Belgian nationality, according to the judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal of Antwerp (north), transmitted to the press.

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Nasimeh Naami, 37, her husband Amir Saadouni, 42, and Mehrdad Arefani, 58, also considered an Iranian intelligence agent in Belgium, were convicted of "

" on June 30, 2018 in Villepinte , near Paris.

The first two were sentenced to 18 years in prison.

For Amir Saadouni it is a heavier sentence than that pronounced at first instance in February 2021 (15 years).

Mehrdad Arefani, a former dissident poet, exiled in Europe for twenty years, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

This amounts, as for Nasimeh Naami, to confirming the sentence of the criminal court, in accordance with what the prosecution demanded.

The main figure in this trial, Assadollah Assadi, considered to be the coordinator of the planned attack, was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence.

This Iranian diplomat, stationed in Vienna at the time of the events, had not appealed.

In its judgment on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal castigates the role of the three accomplices and their "

" alongside Assadollah Assadi in "

" having fomented this terrorist action.

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500 grams of TATP explosive

A bomb attack was to target June 30, 2018 in Villepinte the annual high mass of the NCRI, a coalition of opponents whose main component is the People's Mojahedin Organization (MEK).

The same day, Nasimeh Naami and Amir Saadouni, residing in Antwerp, were arrested by the Belgian police in the vicinity of Brussels in possession of 500 grams of TATP explosive and a detonator in their car.

The investigation opened by the Belgian anti-terrorist justice goes back quickly to Mehrdad Arefani, who is arrested the same day, in Villepinte.

The latter was responsible for guiding the bombers there, on the instructions of the coordinator, according to the court of appeal.

For almost four years, targeted opponents, including NCRI President Maryam Rajavi, have repeatedly denounced a project that is "

", which could have caused "

" among the thousands of people gathered in Villepinte.

This case has also sparked diplomatic tensions between Tehran and several European capitals, including Paris.

Iran supported Nasimeh Assadi and denounced during his sentencing a procedure "

".

According to Tehran, the diplomat's immunity was flouted.