International Human Rights Experts Call Against Releasing Asadi in Belgium
Dozens of prominent Belgian and international experts in human rights, criminal justice, and international law have sent an open letter to Alexander De Croo, Belgium’s Prime Minister, demanding that the government not release Asadollah Asadi and emphasizing that the Belgian government “will bear heavy responsibility in this regard.”
The open letter, sent on Wednesday, September 7, was signed by 68 specialists including current and former judges of the European Union as well as several international human rights organizations.
Asadollah Asadi, a diplomat of the Islamic Republic who is imprisoned in Belgium on terrorism charges, is accused of providing half a kilogram of explosive material to an Iranian couple residing in Belgium to attack a gathering of the People’s Mujahedin Organization near Paris.
In the letter from these officials, the Belgian government was warned that the release of Asadollah Asadi “only feeds into an atmosphere of impunity that exists for Iranian officials.”.
The open letter states: “Allowing Asadi to serve the remainder of his 20-year sentence in Iran, a country responsible for terrorist bombings, makes a mockery of the rule of law and increases immunity for the Iranian government and its officials who are involved in terrorism and crimes against humanity.”
The text of this letter and related statement reads: “Transferring Asadi to Iran effectively exempts him from serving his sentence and sets a dangerous precedent, seriously undermining the rule of law in Europe.”
The text adds: “This encourages the spread of Iranian terrorism on European Union soil and assures Iranian officials that they can escape responsibility for major international crimes. Belgium will bear heavy responsibility in this regard.”
The signatories of this open letter represent 25 countries, including 17 European countries, and include 18 former senior UN officials, including the former head of the UN International Law Commission, and four former UN Special Rapporteurs.
Regarding Asadollah Asadi’s case, Belgium and Iran recently signed a treaty for the transfer of prisoners between the two countries, which received significant media attention and faced strong objections during review in the Belgian Parliament, but ultimately the Belgian Parliament approved it.
According to media reports, Belgium hopes that in exchange for releasing Asadollah Asadi, it can free Olivier Vandecasteele, a 41-year-old Belgian citizen, and possibly Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish physician and researcher sentenced to death in Iran on espionage charges, from Iranian prisons.
Opponents of transferring Asadi to Iran have opened a case in a Belgian court, during which the court extended the prohibition on transferring Asadollah Asadi to Iran and any other third country for two more months and set September 19 for hearing arguments from both parties.
Meanwhile, Belgian media reported on August 20 about the possibility of US intervention in the prisoner exchange program between Iran and Belgium, noting that the United States may file a request for Asadollah Asadi’s extradition to America.
Source: Radio Farda
