Tehran summons Belgian envoy to protest unlawful ruling against Iranian diplomat

Tehran has summoned the Belgian ambassador to protest the 20-year jail term handed down by an Antwerp court against an Iranian diplomat on baseless charge, stressing that the Islamic Republic does not recognize the ruling, which violates international law.

According to Press TV, the Belgian envoy was called in to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to file Tehran’s “strong representations” with Brussels over the unlawful verdict issued in the case of Assadollah Assadi.

At the meeting, the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Western Europe slammed the ruling as a violation of international law, which disregards Belgium’s commitments to the Islamic Republic.

Earlier this month, a court in the Belgian city of Antwerp handed down the 20-year jail sentence to Assadi, claiming that he had plotted a supposed attack against a gathering of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) anti-Iran terrorist cult in Paris in 2018.

Tehran has rejected the verdict and said it was a result of Belgium’s falling under the influence of the anti-Iran MKO terror group, which is freely active on Europe’s soil.

Assadi’s arrest, trial and sentencing is a breach of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and thus lacks legitimacy, the official added.

The detention and the ensuing judicial process was in line with the plots hatched by the MKO terrorist group with the goal of harming Iran-Europe relations.

He said even statements by certain Belgian authorities and the judicial process were clearly reflective of the terror outfit’s rhetoric.

The Iranian official further asked the Brussels government to respect humanitarian rules in dealing with Assadi and swiftly free the diplomat.

In turn, the Belgian ambassador said he would submit Tehran’s note of protest to the government in Brussels.

SS