Freed aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele has marked a week of freedom at his home in Belgium and thanked supporters who helped to secure his release from an Iranian prison.
He said “the discrepancy” between prison, much of it spent in solitary confinement, and his life now, a week on from his release on May 26, “is huge”.
Mr Vandecasteele was freed in exchange for Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat convicted on terrorism charges.
“After 15 months of arbitrary detention, I am gradually getting back in touch with another reality: a beautiful week in my democratic Belgium,” Mr Vandecasteele said.
Imprisoned after being convicted of espionage, said he was unaware of the scale of the campaign on his behalf, which involved regular demonstrations, petitions, lobbying and posters going up across Belgium.
“The extent of your support moves me deeply,” he said. "I want to take the time to personally thank all those who believed in my innocence and gave me back my freedom."
The 42 year old returned home after a mediation by Oman to organise a prisoner exchange. He said a medical team was on hand to help him recover from his captivity and readjustment, and that he was reconnecting with his family “quietly and discreetly”.
He was arrested in February 2022 and sentenced in January this year to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges that included spying. Brussels denounced the charges as trumped up and Mr Vandecasteele denied them.
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Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who was held hostage in Iran, is reunited with his sister Nathalie Vandecasteele at Melsbroek air base in Brussels on Friday. EPA -
The aircraft carrying Mr Vandecasteele, 42, lands in Brussels. EPA -
Mr Vandecasteele's relatives approach the plane to meet him. Reuters -
The aid worker spent 455 days in jail and was sentenced to 74 lashes and 40 years in prison. Reuters -
He was freed in a swap with an Iranian diplomat jailed in Belgium in connection with a failed bomb plot. Reuters -
Mr Vandecasteele was convicted of espionage and money laundering. Reuters -
There were fears he could have faced the death penalty on the espionage charge. Reuters -
Rights group Amnesty International said he had been 'arbitrarily detained'. Reuters
Assadi was jailed over a plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris in 2018.
Under the terms of the exchange, Assadi was meant to complete his sentence in Iran but he was welcomed as a hero by officials, who declared him innocent.
The National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), which was the target of the bomb plot, criticised Assadi's release, saying it breached a Belgian court order requiring them to be consulted first.
Critics of the agreement also fear the prisoner swap will encourage Iran to take Belgians hostage as bargaining chips to seek the return of agents, such as Assadi, arrested for terrorism offences in the West.
Mr Vandecasteele made no mention of Assadi or the deal that led to the exchange.
