Iran punishes Belgian with 74 lashes and 40 years in prison for alleged espionage
Ryan King
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Iran is punishing a Belgian national with 74 lashes and 40 years in prison for espionage charges, according to state media.
Olivier Vandecasteele, a 41-year-old former Belgian aid worker who has been imprisoned since last February, received the sentence along with a $1 million fine for charges pertaining to the espionage accusations, per Al Jazeera. The verdict can be appealed.
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The sentencing came from a closed-door trial and reportedly entails 12 1/2 years for collaboration with hostile foreign powers, 12 1/2 years in prison for espionage, 12 1/2 years for money laundering, and 2 1/2 years for currency smuggling. He was found guilty of all four fronts and accused of “cooperating with the hostile United States government against the Islamic Republic.”
Sources claimed that Tehran believed he entered the country under the auspices of “humanitarian efforts with the aim of spying for the hostile US government and distributing money to groups active in anti-security fields,” Al Jazeera reported. He has adamantly denied the allegations, and Belgium has decried his detainment as “illegal.”
Vandecasteele’s relatives previously claimed he had been slapped with a 28-year sentence, according to Al Jazeera. He may later qualify for release after 12 1/2 years behind bars in keeping with Iranian law, according to state media. Vandecasteele’s family has also revealed that he embarked on a hunger strike during his detainment and has suffered health woes.
Belgium issued a stark warning to its citizens last year to eschew Iran or leave as soon as possible, warning they could face arbitrary detainment.
Relations between Belgium and Iran have soured in recent years following the 2018 arrest of Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi for allegedly hatching plans to bomb France. Further worsening of the relations has been caused by Western support of the protests rocking Iran over the September death of Mahsa Amini, who had been apprehended by the morality police for purportedly flouting dress restrictions. She died during her detainment.
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Iran and the European Union, of which Belgium is a member, have exchanged sanctions against one another.
Many critics, largely from the West, have decried Iran’s lack of due process and accused the oil-rich country of apprehending foreigners like Vandecasteele for leverage against the West. Iran has roundly dismissed those assertions.