A court in Iran has sentenced Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who recently went on hunger strike to protest his detention, to 28 years in prison, his family confirmed Wednesday, saying the charges against him are «unknown».
«It is no longer a matter for debate, but a matter of life and death,» said the family, who stressed that «it must be decided whether to keep an innocent Belgian in Iranian dungeons until he is 69 years old.» Thus, it has indicated that it is a «very hard» verdict, as reported by the Belgian news agency.
The family spokesman, Olivier van Steintegem, has indicated that Vandecasteele’s relatives held a meeting on Tuesday with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander de Croo, and the Minister of Justice, Vincent van Quickenborne, to discuss the imprisonment of the humanitarian worker.
The family said in late November that Vandecasteele had been «in total isolation» in a «windowless cell» for 278 days and reported that the man has suffered «significant weight loss,» has lost several fingernails and «has worrying dental and stomach problems» since his detention.
The Belgian government revealed in July that Vandecasteele was arrested in February and charged with espionage. «This person is suspected of espionage, but there is not the slightest indication that this is based on fact,» said Justice Minister Vincent van Quickenborne.
Given this situation, Brussels is working to secure the release, something that cannot take place unless there is a treaty between Belgium and Iran. The prisoner swap would involve the Iranian diplomat, Asadollah Asadi, sentenced to 20 years by an Antwerp court in 2021 for attempted murder and participating in terrorist activities.
