Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges of espionage and other crimes in a closed-door trial, Iranian state media reported Tuesday.
The Iranian judicial portal reported that a Revolutionary Court has sentenced 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12 and a half years in prison for espionage, 12 and a half years for collaborating with hostile governments and 12 and a half years for money laundering.
The Belgian was also fined $1 million (930,000 euros) and sentenced to an additional two and a half years for currency smuggling.
According to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, it was not clear whether the allegations are related to anti-government protests that have rocked Iran over the past four months. The Iranian authorities blame the unrest on foreign powers, without providing evidence.
The protests began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by customs police for allegedly improperly wearing the Islamic veil imposed on women in the country. The young Kurdish woman died on September 16, three days after she was arrested.
Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual nationals over the years, often sentencing them in secret trials that human rights groups say were not treated fairly. Critics accuse Iran of using these captives as a bargaining chip with the West, something Iranian officials deny.
According to Iranian law, Vandecasteele would be eligible for parole after 12 and a half years. The judicial portal said the convict can still appeal the sentence.
Vandecasteele’s family said last month that the Belgian had been in an Iranian prison for months and was on a hunger strike. They added that the humanitarian worker has been denied access to a lawyer of his choice and is suffering from serious health problems.
Belgium has urged its citizens to leave Iran and warned they risk arbitrary arrest or an unfair trial.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Tuesday accused Tehran of imposing the death penalty on demonstrators to intimidate the Iranian population into not demonstrating.
So far, at least 2,000 people have been charged with various crimes by the Iranian judiciary for participating in the protests, and four of those sentenced to death by the revolutionary courts have been executed.
More than 500 people have been killed in the clashes and 20,000 have been arrested, according to the Oslo-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights.
Source: DN
