We spoke to Iranian opposition about exchange Olivier Vandecasteele
Nieuwsblad.be – The Iranian opposition wants to hold the Belgian State liable for releasing convicted terrorist Assadolah Assadi in exchange for our compatriot Olivier Vandecasteele. “This is endangering lives,” said Farzin Hashemi, deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the parliament in exile.
“A dark stain on Belgium’s international reputation.” Farzin Hashemi makes no bones about it. He is the deputy chairman of NCRI’s foreign committee, the parliament of the Iranian opposition in exile. He calls the fact that the federal government exchanged the convicted terrorist Assadolah Assadi for our compatriot Olivier Vandecasteele in a roundabout way “capitulation to a terrorist regime”.
Don’t you understand that Vandecasteele’s life was the government’s first priority?
“To be clear, we are also delighted that Mr Vandecasteele is back home. That had to happen much earlier. Mr. Vandecasteele should never even have been in prison. But we do condemn the way this happened.”
Because the Belgian government outsmarted you and went behind your back?
“I wouldn’t use the word smart when it comes to a deal with a regime like Iran’s. What the government has done is simply outrageous. It itself recognizes that the Iranian regime is terrorist and tyrannical. The Antwerp court has found Assadi guilty of the attempted attack that could easily have cost the lives of a hundred people. And yet the government allows itself to be blackmailed by that regime to release Assadi.”
“This is about a regime that has recorded 120 executions of people who took to the streets in protest in the month of May alone. Innocent people who received international support, including from Belgium. And now the government is only giving the regime the impression that it can take more hostages in the future to put pressure on Western countries.”
According to the government, the Iranian opposition would make the exchange impossible by continuing to litigate against the extradition treaty?
“By stating that, the government has simply acknowledged that it is violating its own rule of law. The Constitutional Court, the highest court in the country, ruled that the other parties to the case should be informed. The government simply flouted that statement. An affront to all Belgians.”
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said Olivier Vandecasteele’s life was at stake.
“A lame excuse to cover himself. This regime needs contacts in the West much more than the other way around. There was another possibility. Cut all relationships with them, for example. Not this capitulation. We have seen in the past that if the regime really gets into trouble, it will back down. But by giving in to this hostage-taking, you are only sending a signal that Western democracies can be intimidated.”
Cutting all relationships also means that communication is no longer possible. Isn’t it better to keep talking?
“That’s always the reasoning. But you should know: this regime has been violating all international laws for 44 years. All these years people kept talking. The result has been 44 years: more terror, more executions. If it doesn’t work, then maybe it’s time to try something else, right? The comparison is not entirely valid, but when Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, the rest of the world didn’t stop talking either, did it? This is about the lives of Iranians, Belgians, French, Americans, you name it. And the regime is never held responsible for that.”
So you don’t intend to accept this state of affairs?
“We are looking at all possible options with our lawyers. We have serious doubts whether Article 167 was sufficient grounds for making the exchange. It really doesn’t matter at all what article they base themselves on. They violated the rights of Assadi’s victims. Perhaps this will end up before the European Court of Human Rights.”
Assadi is no longer allowed to enter the Schengen zone. He’s been flagged to Interpol. Don’t you trust that?
“We live in the age of communication . The fact that Assadi is in Iran does not mean that he no longer has options to manage his network. It has been proven in court that he has such a terrorist network. The regime has many of those networks. This exchange gives Tehran the signal that it can carry out such attacks with impunity. The victims that the regime will incur are on the conscience of the Belgian government.”
