Belgium: Constitutional Court approves prisoner swap with Iran

Enlarge image

Supporters of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele protest against his conviction

Photo: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS

Belgium's constitutional court has cleared the way for a prisoner exchange between Belgium and Iran.

The court said in Brussels that it had rejected an objection by Iranian exile opposition members to such a possibility.

For each individual case, however, there should also be an opportunity to appeal to a court in the future.

The so-called Iran deal had sparked discussions in Belgium.

The Belgian government wants to use it to free development worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who has been imprisoned in Iran.

In return, the former employee of the Iranian embassy in Vienna, Assadollah Assadi, is to be transferred to Tehran.

Assadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium in 2021 for a foiled attack on Iranian opposition figures near Paris in 2018.

Accusation of “hostage diplomacy”

Iranian exile oppositionists and human rights activists had challenged the agreement.

They fear that Assadi will not have to continue serving the remainder of his sentence in Iran.

The development worker Vandecasteele was arrested in Iran in February 2022.

He was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for »espionage against the Islamic Republic«.

According to Iranian sources, he must serve at least twelve years.

Supporters and human rights groups see the case as an example of Iranian "hostage diplomacy."

atb/AFP/Reuters