Lawsuit filed in Belgium against Iranian diplomat accused of planning a terrorist attack – Worldwide

A lawsuit against an Iranian diplomat accused of planning a terrorist attack at an event organized by the Iranian opposition in France begins on Friday in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

In June 2018, the Belgian authorities thwarted an attempt to import explosives into France to launch an attack on an Iranian exile opposition movement.

Last year, the French government accused Iranian intelligence of planning the attack, but Iran categorically denied its guilt.

The accused, 48-year-old Iranian diplomat Asadoll Asadi, who was previously accredited in Vienna, faces life imprisonment if he is found guilty by a Belgian court of the charges against him.

He was detained in Germany, where he did not enjoy legal immunity.

Iranian Opposition Organization On June 30, 2018, the Iranian National Resistance Council, which includes the opposition organization Iranian People’s Mujahedeen, organized an event in one of the suburbs of Paris.

On the morning of that day, Belgian police detained a couple driving from Antwerp and carrying half a kilogram of explosive acetone peroxide and a detonator.

The detainees – 36-year-old Nasime Nami and 40-year-old Amir Saduni – will sit on the defendant’s bench next to Asadi. The 57-year-old Iranian poet Merdad Arefani, who has lived in Belgium for more than ten years, will also be brought to justice. He was arrested in 2018 in France.

All four are accused of attempting to commit a terrorist attack and of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. All the accused are facing life imprisonment.

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