Order of Francophone and German-speaking Bars of Belgium denounces Olivier Vandecasteele's conviction

The Order of Francophone and German-speaking Bars of Belgium calls on the Iranian authorities not to implement the conviction of Belgian NGO worker Olivier Vandecasteele. It also asks the Belgian and international authorities to use the necessary "political and diplomatic means" to obtain Vandecasteele's quick release.

The French- and German-speaking lawyers denounced the fact that the aid worker did not have a lawyer at his side whom he was free to choose and condemned the disregard for Vandecasteele's physical and moral integrity.

Vandecasteele has been in a cell in Iran for almost a year. He was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for espionage, although the Iranian authorities have not confirmed this information from the Iranian press.

The Belgian government is pushing for Vandecasteele's release and, in the meantime, for an improvement in his detention conditions, but this has not yet yielded the desired result.

^{© Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP}