Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, imprisoned in Iran for almost a year over espionage, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes, Iranian news agencies report.
After being arrested in February 2022 on unknown grounds, a spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary only came out last week stating that the former NGO worker Vandecasteele had been charged with espionage and undermining national security.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Iranian authorities confirmed multiple sentences amounting to a 40-year prison sentence and 74 lashes for the Belgian aid worker, though Tasnim and Mizan Online reported that he could still appeal the verdict.
The agencies added that other charges include cooperating with the US against Iran, currency smuggling, and money laundering.
Since his arrest, Belgium insists Vandecasteele is innocent and is calling for his release, until which he should have better detention conditions.
Meanwhile, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib announced Tuesday that Iran provided “no official information” on the charges and that the Iranian ambassador to Belgium had been summoned the same day.
Vandecasteele’s family recently said he was in a cell with no natural light or fresh air and expressed concern about the prisoner’s deteriorating health.
“He only owns a cotton T-shirt, although the temperature in his cell is often close to zero degrees. He only eats rice and lentils. He has already lost more than 25 kilos. He has also been suffering for months from various health problems, for which he receives almost no care,” his sister told the Belgian magazine Knack.
“No foreigner had ever been held in solitary confinement for so long; it’s a record, his prison guards told him,” she added.
The Belgian ambassador in Tehran visited him last week for 30 minutes during which the “emaciated” prisoner explained that he had been forced into a “probably staged” trial.
Several organisations and Belgian media argue that Iran is using Vandecasteele as a bargaining chip for Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat convicted in Belgium for a planned bomb attack on the Iranian opposition in France.
This “hostage diplomacy” used for many years consists of convicting dual nationals or foreigners and then seeking to trade them for Iranians imprisoned in other countries. Last year, Belgium negotiated a prisoner swap with Iran, which would have allowed for the exchange of Assadi for Vandecasteele.
However, the Belgian Constitutional Court decided to suspend the agreement last month as Assadi could have escaped his sentence and been released in Iran. In February, the court will determine whether or not the treaty should be abandoned.
(Anne-Sophie Gayet, Arthur Riffaud | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
