UN Experts Say Arrest of Belgian Citizen in Iran Violates Int’l Law

An undated photograph made available by the family of Bernard Phelan on January 18, 2023, shows French-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan in an undisclosed location. (Photo by Handout / FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP)
An undated photograph made available by the family of Bernard Phelan on January 18, 2023, shows French-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan in an undisclosed location. (Photo by Handout / FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP)
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UN Experts Say Arrest of Belgian Citizen in Iran Violates Int’l Law

An undated photograph made available by the family of Bernard Phelan on January 18, 2023, shows French-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan in an undisclosed location. (Photo by Handout / FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP)
An undated photograph made available by the family of Bernard Phelan on January 18, 2023, shows French-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan in an undisclosed location. (Photo by Handout / FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP)

UN rights experts have condemned Iran’s “arbitrary” detention of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele and demanded his immediate release.

“We believe Mr. Vandecasteele has been arbitrarily deprived of his liberty and is a victim of enforced disappearance for periods of detention,” the independent UN human rights experts said in a statement.

“His right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal has been violated. These are flagrant violations of Iran’s obligations under international law,” they said.

Vandecasteele, 40, was arrested on February 24, 2022.

In their statement, the UN experts declared that he had suffered ill-treatment in detention and that his health condition was critical.

Vandecasteele had been sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment and 74 lashes on charges of espionage against Iran, cooperating with the US, currency smuggling, and money laundering.

Under Iranian law, Vandecasteele is eligible for appeal after 12 years and six months.

“We are gravely concerned over the mental and physical health of Mr. Vandecasteele,” the experts said. “Mr. Vandecasteele requires special attention and medication.” 

Belgian-Iranian ties have been tense since the arrest of Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium over plots to stage a “terrorist” attack against the Iranian opposition.

The statement urged Iran to release the many foreign and dual national citizens who remain arbitrarily detained in Iran and condemned the execution on January 14 of the British-Iranian, Alireza Akbari.

Moreover, France is extremely worried about the health of Bernard Phelan, a French-Irish citizen held in Iran since October 2022, who relatives say is on hunger strike, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Local media reported that a German national was also arrested.

"He is showing serious signs of physical and psychological exhaustion," said a French diplomatic source, adding he was in a "critical state."

The Iranian authorities have so far refused to release Phelan on medical grounds despite repeated requests from the French and Irish authorities, the source said.

The French Foreign Ministry said Phelan was one of seven French nationals currently held arbitrarily by Iran, and Paris was “extremely worried about his health, which is poor and requires appropriate medical monitoring, which is not ensured in detention”.

Phelan’s sister, Caroline Masse-Phelan, told AFP her brother had started a dry hunger strike on Monday, refusing water, in addition to the food hunger strike he had been on since the start of the year.

“We are stepping up the pressure on Iran, in coordination with the Irish government, to ensure that our compatriot is released without delay,” the French foreign ministry said.

Tehran is accused of using western nationals to put pressure on the West.



Kremlin: Putin and Trump Discussed Middle East Tensions, Ukraine Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Kremlin: Putin and Trump Discussed Middle East Tensions, Ukraine Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.

During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia’s proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.

“The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the center of the exchange of opinions,” Ushakov told journalists following the conversation between Putin and Trump.

“Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,” he said, warning of “unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East.”

Putin also emphasized Russia’s readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts, and noted that Russia had proposed steps “aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements” during US-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.

“Russia’s principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged,” Ushakov said.

Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming,” Ushakov said, but acknowledged the “effectiveness” of Israel’s strikes on targets in Iran.

The leaders did not rule out a possible return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, according to Ushakov.

According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war.

“Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,” Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.

Trump, he said, “noted his interest in a speedy end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”

Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.