Meeting in Brussels for Olivier Vandecasteele (Brussels) terminated in Iran
Oliver Vandecasteele. — © BELGA
A few family members, friends and sympathizers of the Belgian NGO employee Olivier Vandecasteele organized a meeting on a rain-soaked Albertinaplein in Brussels on Sunday afternoon. On Christmas Day, they gather to denounce the conviction of the Belgian by the Iranian state and demand his immediate release.
gliSource: BELGA
Vandecasteele has been closed in Iran since February 24. The reasons for his arrest are not known, but in the meantime the NGO employee has already been sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Iranian court. The Belgian is in complete isolation, suffers from serious health problems and has no access to a lawyer of his choice. Moreover, Vandecasteele started a hunger strike almost 5 weeks ago.
With the meeting on Christmas Day, Vandecasteele’s hopeless situation is once again raised. Together with Amnesty International, they don’t want to celebrate Christmas today, but want to make the public aware of the fate of the accepted Belgian. They certainly demand his immediate release. They hope that Belgium will put the Iran deal into effect in order to reach an exchange if possible. The Constitutional Court has suspended the Iran deal, but the government would have a defensive preparation.
“We are here today to give Olivier a voice. To say out loud that his life is in danger. To remind Belgium that it must not turn its back on an innocent Belgian and must do everything it can to free Olivier from the hell he is in,” says a friend of Olivier at the meeting.