The Justice Department denies that Olivier Vandecasteele will soon be exchanged for an Iranian prisoner

The news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the prisoner exchange would actually take place, based on a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary. It reports the exchange between a Belgian, locked up in an Iranian cell, and Assadolah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in our country for plotting a terrorist attack. The message, that you can read heremakes it seem that it concerns an exchange with Olivier Vandecasteele, the Belgian NGO employee who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year in inhumane conditions.

“misleading reporting”

When we check the message with the cabinet of Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne, we hear that it concerns misleading information. Reuters’ reporting is therefore not confirmed and even contradicted by the cabinet. Van Quickenborne also confirms this on Twitter:

News about Olivier Vandecasteele is not correct. Message from a rogue state. The goal: to sow confusion on the hood of an innocent compatriot and his family.

Very delicate operation. We will continue to do everything we can to get him back to us as soon as possible.

— Vincent Van Quickenborne (@VincentVQ) April 26, 2023