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Belgium Requests Iran Transfer Imprisoned Aid Worker

A poster at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s headquarters demands the release of Olivier Vandecasteele in February. (AFP)
A poster at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s headquarters demands the release of Olivier Vandecasteele in February. (AFP)
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Belgium Requests Iran Transfer Imprisoned Aid Worker

A poster at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s headquarters demands the release of Olivier Vandecasteele in February. (AFP)
A poster at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s headquarters demands the release of Olivier Vandecasteele in February. (AFP)

Belgium submitted a request to Iran on Tuesday that jailed aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele be sent back to his country, which has agreed to a prisoner transfer treaty with Iran.

Belgian Vandecasteele was arrested on a visit to Iran in February 2022 and sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges including spying.

Belgium's justice minister has said he was convicted "for a fabricated series of crimes" and in retribution for a 20-year jail term given to an Iranian diplomat in 2021 over a foiled bomb plot.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said she had informed her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of the “transfer request for our compatriot Olivier Vandecasteele.”

"I denounced his conditions of detention and requested a visit by our ambassador in Iran," she said.

The family of Vandecasteele recently said he was being held in solitary confinement and complained that "he could no longer sleep and could barely stand up straight because of excruciating muscle and nerve pain."

"His life is at stake: the lack of concrete action and quick results could put Olivier in an irreparable situation."

Iran has said it is open to a prisoner swap, indicating it would seek the return of the diplomat Assadollah Assadi, the first Iranian official to face trial for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution.

The treaty's implementation was postponed due to legal challenges submitted by the Iranian opposition “People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran”.

In July last year, Belgium and Iran signed a prisoner-swap treaty that Brussels viewed as a path to free Vandecasteele, and the opposers viewed as a path to free Assadi.

Belgium's Constitutional Court suspended the treaty in December to look into its legality.

The Court rejected in March a challenge by the Iranian opposition but warned that in case the Iranian convict was transferred to his country then the Belgian government should make sure the rule is appealable.

Belgium submitted the official request to send Vandecasteele back to his country when the treaty became effective.

A foreign ministry spokesperson did not reply when asked if the Belgian transfer request was seen as leading to a prisoner exchange.

For its part, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Development Cooperation didn’t comment on a question about whether Iran officially requested handing over Assadi.

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Report: China Could Launch Military Drills Near Taiwan over President’s Pacific Visit

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te waves to the crowd on national day to mark the 113th birthday of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, in Taipei, Taiwan October 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te waves to the crowd on national day to mark the 113th birthday of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, in Taipei, Taiwan October 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Report: China Could Launch Military Drills Near Taiwan over President’s Pacific Visit

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te waves to the crowd on national day to mark the 113th birthday of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, in Taipei, Taiwan October 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te waves to the crowd on national day to mark the 113th birthday of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, in Taipei, Taiwan October 10, 2024. (Reuters)

China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President Lai Ching-te's upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, according to assessments by Taiwan and regional security officials.

Lai will start a visit to Taipei's three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip coming shortly after the US election.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and the most important issue in its relations with Washington, has a strong dislike of Lai whom Beijing calls a "separatist".

Lai's office has yet to confirm details of what are officially stop-overs in the United States, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources familiar with the trip have previously said.

Beijing could conduct military maneuvers around or shortly after Lai's trip which ends on Dec. 6, said four officials in the region briefed on the matter, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

China's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment, though the government has urged the United States not to permit Lai to transit.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that Lai's transit stops were "essentially provocative acts that violate the one-China principle".

Taiwan's defense ministry and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

China has already staged two rounds of major exercises around Taiwan this year to pressure Taipei, one in May and one in October, dubbed "Joint Sword - 2024A" and B, respectively.

China could "repackage" ongoing regular military activities in the South China Sea or the East China Sea, moving them closer to Taiwan and rebranding them "Joint Sword - 2024C," according to a Taiwan security official.

Beijing could expand the size of its regular "joint combat readiness patrol" that typically involves naval and air force drills near Taiwan during Lai's visit and launch a "targeted" exercise towards the end of the trip, the source said.

Between 20 and 30 Chinese naval vessels are involved in the ongoing military maneuvers this week in the South China Sea, the source added.

'RED LINE'

Beijing wants to show the incoming US administration of President-elect Donald Trump that the first island chain is "China's sphere of influence" and Lai's trip could become a "pretext", the official said, referring to an area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China's coastal seas.

"Beijing hopes to draw a red line and establish its power" during the US government transition and extend its sphere of influence, the official said, adding the military drills were meant for the United States and its allies.

A second source, a Taiwan-based regional security official, said the drills would probably be more limited in scope than the two earlier rounds this year given unstable winter weather conditions in the Taiwan Strait.

A third source, familiar with security assessments around Taiwan, said China could use exercises in the coming weeks to test the bottom line of the Trump administration.

Two of the sources said more favorable weather conditions may prompt an earlier or delayed display of force in the days around Lai's trip.

Taiwan presidents typically take advantage of stop-overs in the United States going to and from far-flung allies to give speeches and meet with friendly politicians. Lai will be visiting the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, three of the 12 remaining countries maintaining official diplomatic ties with Taipei.

It would not be unprecedented for China to respond militarily to this trip. It did so in August of last year when then-Vice President Lai returned from the United States, and in April of last year upon then-President Tsai Ing-wen's return from California.

Lai and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party reject Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.