Belgian Court Hands Iranian Diplomat 20 Years for Terrorism Plot
Belgian Court Hands Iranian Diplomat 20 Years for Terrorism Plot
An Iranian who claimed diplomatic immunity from prosecution was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court on Thursday for an attempted 2018 bombing in Paris.
The court in Antwerp convicted Assadollah Assadi, who was attached to the Iranian mission in Austria when he supplied explosives for the planned attack on a rally organized by exiled Iranian opposition activists in the French capital.
His conviction is the first time an Iranian official has been sentenced for terrorism in the European Union since Iran’s 1979 revolution, and it comes as President Joe Biden is considering whether to rejoin the historic 2015 nuclear accord and to lift the sanctions on Iran that were reimposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.
The 2018 planned bombing was thwarted and Assadi, now 49, was arrested in Germany in July 2018. German and Belgian authorities dismissed his claim of diplomatic immunity. Three accomplices, all dual Iranian-Belgians, were also given jail terms of between 15 and 18 years for their roles in the plot.
An Iranian who claimed diplomatic immunity from prosecution was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court on Thursday for an attempted 2018 bombing in Paris. The court in Antwerp convicted Assadollah Assadi, who was attached to the Iranian mission in Austria when he supplied explosives for the planned attack on a rally organized by exiled Iranian opposition activists in the French capital. His conviction is the first time an Iranian official has been sentenced for terrorism in the European Union since Iran’s 1979 revolution, and it comes as President Joe Biden is considering whether to rejoin the historic 2015 nuclear accord and to lift the sanctions on Iran that were reimposed by his predecessor Donald Trump. The 2018 planned bombing was thwarted and Assadi, now 49, was arrested in Germany in July 2018. German and Belgian authorities dismissed his claim of diplomatic immunity. Three accomplices, all dual Iranian-Belgians, were also given jail terms of between 15 and 18 years for their roles in the plot.
