Iranian activists' letter to Belgium: Do not pardon terrorist citizens of the Islamic Republic

Following rising speculation about the possibility of Assadollah Asadi being extradited from Belgium to Iran, a large number of Iranian activists wrote separate letters asking the Belgian government not to pave the way for "amnesty for terrorist nationals of the Islamic Republic."

Asadollah Asadi, a 50-year-old Iranian diplomat who worked at the Iranian embassy in Austria, is accused of providing a half-kilogram explosive device to an Iranian couple living in Belgium to target a conference of the People's Mojahedin Organization in the suburbs of Paris.

The French government accused the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence of planning and executing this conspiracy, and Asadollah Asadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a trial.

Now, news is coming that the consideration of a bill in the Belgian parliament for the exchange of criminals with Iran could pave the way for the release of Assadollah Assadi.

In response to this development, more than 300 human rights activists and opposition activists have now written a letter to the Prime Minister and members of the Belgian Parliament, calling the bill that could pave the way for Mr. Asadi's extradition "extremely worrying" and writing that "thanks to this law, the Belgian government allows the Islamic Republic to pardon its terrorist nationals."

The signatories of this letter also, citing "reports from human rights organizations" stating that "the Islamic Republic has so far murdered several hundred of its opponents outside of Iran" and considering that "some of these murders have occurred in European countries," emphasized that "the adoption of such a law would allow the Islamic Republic to send its teams of killers to Belgium to assassinate its opponents with less risk, because these killers would have the assurance that the Belgian government would return them directly to their countries to be released."

In another letter signed by more than 430 Iranian activists, the signatories warned the Belgian parliament and government that "extraditing a person convicted of a terrorist act would give the Iranian government a blank check to continue this process of hostage-taking, kidnapping, and assassination."

The authors of the letter have stated: "If this bill is passed, any further threats made by the Iranian government against citizens of Western societies will name Belgium alongside the Iranian government."

At the same time, nine US national security officials, in a letter the text of which was obtained by Radio Farda, called the consideration of such a bill "complete disrespect for law enforcement officers" in Western countries who "risked their lives" to prevent the Islamic Republic's terrorist actions.

The letter, which was signed by former US Navy Commander General James Conway, former FBI Director Louis J. Fry, and former NATO commander General James L. Jones, among others, emphasized that Assadollah Assad had "20 sleeper cells" in European countries.

The signatories of the letter have warned that the extradition of Assadollah Assadi will allow these "sleeper cells" to travel more easily throughout the European Union, and law enforcement will be unable to properly take the necessary measures against them.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, July 4, 600 Iranian-Americans who attended the June 3, 2018 MEK rally in Paris also strongly condemned the new Belgian bill.

The letter, addressed to the Belgian Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Belgian House of Representatives, states that "the return of a convicted terrorist is shameful" and calls on Belgium to "uphold the values ​​of human rights and the rule of law."

Belgian MP Georges Dalman has said that his country's government will likely exchange Asadi for Ahmadreza Jalali, a dual Swedish-Iranian citizen and professor at the University of Brussels who is sentenced to death in Iran, as a "humanitarian act."

However, Vincent Van Kuykenborn, a spokesman for the Belgian Ministry of Justice, told AFP that the agreement had nothing to do with the Ahmad Reza Jalali case.

He added, without providing further details, that the Ministry of Justice will present its position in parliament on Tuesday of this week.

Source: Radio Farda