Release of a Dane and two Iranian-Austrians detained by Iran

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Friday (June 2nd) the release of three Europeans who were detained in Iran and are currently on their way back via the Sultanate of Oman, a week after the release of Belgian Olivier Vandecasteele.

Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Illustration image). Wikipedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 Ehsan Iran

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They are a Dane who was arrested in November 2022 "on the sidelines of women's rights rallies" and two Iranian-Austrians arrested, one in January 2016 and the other in January 2019, said Alexander De Croo's services in a statement. "Belgium is currently organizing their evacuation via Oman to Belgium. The Prime Minister would like to take this opportunity to thank the Omani authorities for the central role played during these releases," the statement added.

Yesterday in Chisinau, I updated my colleagues @karlnehammer & @Statsmin Frederiksen on the imminent release of 3 Austrian and Danish prisoners, heading to Belgium via Oman.

We'll continue advocating for the release and humane treatment of all Europeans unjustly held in Iran. pic.twitter.com/uwJyvmye4s

— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) June 2, 2023

The two ex-detainees with Austrian nationality are Kamran Ghaderi and Massoud Mossaheb, an official source in Vienna said. The second, arrested in 2019, was released in November 2022 on medical grounds, but was previously banned from leaving Iran. "I am relieved that we can finally bring Kamran Ghaderi and Massoud Mossaheb home after years of difficult detention in Iran," Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in a statement. They are already on their way to Austria, where their families are eagerly awaiting them. ».

2,709 and 1,586 days of detention

Kamran Ghaderi and Massoud Mossaheb spent "2,709 and1,586 days in detention in Iran, respectively". "It was a diplomatic marathon that finally paid off," Schallenberg said.

On 26 May, Iran released Belgian humanitarian Olivier Vandecasteele after 455 days in detention. Belgium obtained his return, already via the Sultanate of Oman, in exchange for an Iranian diplomat convicted of terrorism and imprisoned in Belgium for nearly five years.

This diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, then stationed in Vienna, was arrested in the summer of 2018 in Germany, then sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism in 2021 in Belgium, for a planned attack that was to target a gathering of Iranian opponents in France. After his release on Friday, May 26, 2023, he was greeted with gifts and a flower necklace in Tehran by two senior Iranian government officials.

>> Read also: Report - Gathered in Paris to say "stop the death penalty and abuses" in Iran

(

With AFP)

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  • Iran
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