Paris, France
An exiled Iranian opposition group Friday accused Belgium of paying a “shameful” ransom for hostage-taking after Tehran freed aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele in exchange for an Iranian diplomat convicted by a Belgian court of terrorism.
“The release of the terrorist… is a shameful ransom to terrorism and hostage-taking. This will embolden the religious fascism ruling Iran to continue its crimes,” the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement.
Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi was jailed in Belgium over a 2018 plot to bomb an NCRI opposition rally outside Paris. He is now heading back to Tehran after the exchange brokered by Oman.