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Olivier Vandecasteele

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Olivier Vandecasteele
Banner of #freeoliviviervandecasteele in Brussels (26 May 2023)
NationalityBelgian
OccupationHumanitarian worker

Olivier Vandecasteele is an experienced Belgian humanitarian aid worker who was arbitrarily arrested and taken state hostage in Iran on 24 February 2022. Following a sham trial, he was firstly sentenced to 28 years in December 2022, then sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes in January 2023.[1] Vandecasteele was kept hostage "in unbearable conditions" [2] in Iran for 456 days. He was released on 26 May 2023. His case is considered to be "a flagrant violation of international law" following a.o. the United Nations and Amnesty International.[3]

In 2024, he founded "Protect Humanitarians", an independent and neutral NGO which aims to a.o. advocate for a better protection of humanitarian aid workers around the world.

Career

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Since at least 2004, Olivier Vandecasteele has worked for international humanitarian organisations, including Médecins du Monde and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) a.o. He has worked in India, Afghanistan, Morocco, Iran and Mali. In 2015, he became Country Director of NRC's Iran Operations where he was a.o. in charge of programs aimed to improve the living conditions of afghan refugees (2 to 3 millions). During the COVID-19 pandemic, together with his teams, he distributed widely humanitarian aid.[4]

In 2024, Olivier Vandecasteele founded the NGO "Protect Humanitarians" which aims to a.o. advocate for a better protection of humanitarian aid workers around the world.

Detention in Iran

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Olivier Vandecasteele was wrongfully detained in Iran on 24 February 2022.[5][6] On 5 July 2022, Belgium's justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne claimed that Vandecasteele was being held on fabricated "espionage" charges.[6]

In December 2022, the Belgian government stated that Iran had sentenced him to 28 years in prison,[7] and then in January 2023, the BBC reported that he had been sentenced during a sham trial[8] to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for spying, money laundering, and currency smuggling.[9] Olivier Vandecasteele denied the charges against him.[9] "Belgium has always insisted that Vandecasteele was innocent and his trial rigged".[10]

On 26 May 2023 it was announced that Vandecasteele had been freed following a prisoner swap with Asadollah Asadi, an Iranian ex-diplomat convicted of plotting a bomb attack against a rally of the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran in Paris; Asadi had been arrested in 2018 in Germany before being extradited and transferred that same year to Belgium to be prosecuted together with accomplices (a.o. Belgian nationals from Iranian origin arrested on June 30th 2018 in Belgium near the French Border[11] and another one in Paris).[12]

Olivier Vandecasteele was kept arbitrarily detained in very dire circumstances. Indeed he was in full isolation for 14 months, out of his 15 months of wrongful detention, in a tiny basement cell without windows and with the light constantly on 24/7. Amnesty International,the experts of the United Nations and the UN Human Rights Council's Arbitrary Detention Working stated that Vandecasteele had been subjected to enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment.[13]

Protect Humanitarians

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In 2024, Olivier Vandecasteele founded the NGO "Protect Humanitarians" which aims a.o to advocate for better protection and support of humanitarian personnel.[14] Through a dedicated emergency fund, Protect Humanitarians provides concrete support to NGOs and their staff, survivors of attacks and/or victims’ relatives. The NGO also develops research and learning to promote best practices in staff care, mental health and legal assistance to survivors after incidents.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Verkerk, Joris; van Straaten, Floris. "Belgische hulpverlener Vandecasteele na bijna anderhalf jaar in Iraanse gevangenis op vrije voeten" (in Dutch). NRC. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Belgian aid worker, Iranian diplomat freed in prisoner exchange". France 24. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  3. ^ "Iran: UN experts say arbitrary detention of Belgian aid worker a flagrant violation of international law". OHCHR. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. ^ "How Olivier Vandecasteele became a pawn in Iran's deadly diplomatic game".
  5. ^ "Exclusive: Iran Holding Belgian Man As Brussels Mulls Prisoner Exchange". Iran International. 4 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Belgian Held In Iran For 'Espionage'". AFP. 5 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Olivier Vandecasteele: Iran jails Belgian aid worker for 28 years - family". BBC. 14 December 2022.
  8. ^ Times, The Brussels. "Belgian aid worker sentenced to 40 years, not 28, in prison, Iran confirms". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  9. ^ a b "Olivier Vandecasteele: Belgian aid worker sentenced to 40 years in Iran". BBC News. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  10. ^ "Belgian aid worker, Iranian diplomat freed in prisoner exchange". France 24. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  11. ^ "Iranian diplomat faces extradition from Germany over 'bomb plot'". 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  12. ^ "Olivier Vandecasteele est libre : un échange avec le diplomate iranien Assadi a été effectué à Oman". La Libre Belgique (in French).
  13. ^ "Iran: Tortured Belgian aid worker forcibly disappeared: Olivier Vandecasteele". Amnesty International. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  14. ^ "We need better protection for humanitarian workers".
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Media related to Olivier Vandecasteele at Wikimedia Commons

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