Iran Strongly Condemns Belgian Court’s Jail Term against Its Diplomat

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has categorically denounced a Belgian court’s ruling against Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi.

In a statement on Thursday, Khatibzadeh said the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the 20-year jail term issued by a court in the Belgian city of Antwerp against Iranian diplomat Mr Assadollah Assadi.

“As we repeatedly announced earlier, all the procedures that have so far been taken against the diplomat, including his arrest, the case brought against him or the conviction, were all unlawful and amounted to blatant violation of international law, especially the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will never recognize it,” he noted.

“Unfortunately, Belgium and some [other] European countries have taken such illegal and unjustifiable actions [against Assadi] under the influence of the atmosphere that has been created by the hostile MKO terrorist group on Europe’s soil,” Khatibzadeh noted.

Therefore, he added, they must be held accountable for their flagrant violation of the Iranian diplomat’s rights, including the inhumane conditions he faced under arrest in Germany and Belgium.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to resort to all possible legal and diplomatic means to realize the rights of Mr Assadollah Assadi and to hold accountable the governments that have violated their international obligations,” Khatibzadeh said.

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