Belgian ambassador to Iran was able to meet Olivier Vandecasteele under strict supervision

Belgian ambassador to Iran was able to meet Olivier Vandecasteele under strict supervision

After 10 months in complete isolation, Vandecasteele looks even “leaner and with deep bags under the eyes”. His health would only have deteriorated.

Such encounters last 15 to 30 minutes, are filmed and closely supervised by four guards and an interpreter. Last week, an Iranian colleague confirmed to Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib that a Belgian imprisoned in Iran is being accused of espionage. Because Vandecasteele is the only compatriot who is in captivity, it can only be about him. He knows that too, but that’s all.

Vandecasteele has been held in an isolation cell in Iran since February 24. In November, he was forced to participate in a possibly staged trial, where he was sentenced to 28 years in prison. He told the Belgian ambassador that he was forced to participate in the trial for hours with shackles around his arms and legs.

Ten months in solitary confinement and “inhumane treatment” take their toll on his body. It was previously known that Vandecasteele had an infection in his foot, was not given winter clothes at temperatures below zero and had serious dental problems. The only dental treatment he has received has only solved part of the problems. He now also has problems with his ears.

The family tries to keep the case up to date. They plan a meeting in Brussels on January 22, three days after Olivier’s birthday.

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