Iran says Belgium prisoner swap ‘finalized,’ Brussels denies

Iran says a prisoner exchange with Belgium was “finalized,” hinting at the release of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, which Brussels swiftly denied.

Vandecasteele, 42, was sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for “espionage,” Tehran’s judiciary said at the time, after a trial his family and Belgian authorities dubbed “unfair.”

“The agreement on the transfer of convicts between Iran and Belgium has been concluded and finalized, and the documents have been transferred,” judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi says on Wednesday during his weekly press conference.

In a potential swap, Brussels would release Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, sentenced in Belgium to 20 years in prison over a plot to blow up an Iranian opposition event in 2018 outside Paris.

“The other party had applied, we also applied [for the transfer], and God willing, this action will take place,” Setayeshi says without elaborating.

A Belgian government official tells AFP shortly after the Iranian announcement that “we deny the information suggesting the possible release of Olivier Vandecasteele,” arrested in Tehran in February 2022.

Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne denies the Iranian spokesman’s remarks and says in a tweet Tehran was seeking to “sow confusion” in a “very delicate” case.

Vandecasteele’s family recently reported “serious health issues” that put his life at risk, regretting he was held in solitary confinement without access to medical treatment.

The Belgian government has declined to comment on whether Iran had officially requested Assadi’s transfer.

A prisoner exchange treaty between Iran and Belgium allowing a potential swap entered into force on April 18.