Iran sentenced a Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for alleged spying, money laundering and currency smuggling, the state-run Mizan Online said.
(Bloomberg) — Iran sentenced a Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for alleged spying, money laundering and currency smuggling, the state-run Mizan Online said.
Olivier Vandecasteele was handed four jail terms totaling 40 years, plus sentences of 74 lashes and a fine, according to Mizan, the official news portal for Iran’s judiciary.
The charges were listed as espionage, cooperating with the US against the Islamic Republic, money laundering and smuggling $500,000 out of Iran, Mizan said.
The Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned Vandecasteele’s detention and said it would summon Iran’s ambassador in Brussels over the matter, according to a statement posted on Twitter by Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.
Belgium confirmed in July that Vandecasteele, a former employee of the Norwegian Refugee Council, had been detained in Iran. The BBC had reported that he was arrested in February 2022.
Last month Belgium’s Constitutional Court suspended a prisoner swap treaty with Iran citing its potential for “serious harm,” according to an official statement. Belgium is currently holding an Iranian official accused of plotting a bomb attack in France.
(Updates with Belgian government reaction, charges)
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