Vandecaster was arrested throughout a go to to Iran in February 2022. He was later sentenced to 40 years in jail on 4 expenses: spying on Iran, cooperating with the United States towards Iran, forex smuggling, and cash laundering. Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborn on the time mentioned the fees have been “trumped up”.
Van de Castele is seen as a sufferer of hostage diplomacy, which Iran makes use of to extract concessions from Western international locations (the newest instance being Sweden, the place he works for the European External Action Service and is imprisoned on espionage expenses). His nationality is Johann Froderos).
After serving greater than a 12 months in jail, Vandecastere took half in a prisoner trade between Belgium and Iran final May through which convicted terrorist Assadollah Assadi traveled to Tehran. After Assadi’s repatriation, Iran additionally launched three different imprisoned Europeans. The Iranian National Council of Resistance, a political opposition motion of Iranian exiles, strongly condemned the deal.
Demonstrators rally demanding the discharge of Olivier Vandecasteel in January 2023 | Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP by way of Getty Images
Van de Casteel is presently partnering with the Belgian King Baudouin Foundation to create the Alliance Defending Humanitarian Protection. The purpose is to ascertain a fund to advocate for humanitarian staff in want and assist such staff with authorized, medical, or psychological well being help.
In 2022, roughly 460 humanitarian help staff have been killed, injured or kidnapped on the job. Last 12 months, that quantity is predicted to exceed 500. But so far as Van de Castel is conscious, no umbrella group exists to assist struggling help staff, both by way of advocacy or by offering monetary and authorized assist to them. It would not exist there.
“This is a public challenge,” he mentioned. “The undeniable fact that the killings, accidents and kidnappings of humanitarian staff all over the world are on the rise is a matter of concern not solely to the sphere but in addition to those that share an curiosity in what the sphere calls humanitarian rules. should.”