Iranian diplomat terror plot trial

On 27 November 2020, Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi and three other Iranian citizens were tried in Belgium,[1][2][3] charged with plotting to bomb a 2018 rally of National Council of Resistance of Iran in France.[4] The trial established that Assadi had smuggled explosives from Iran and was acting on instructions of high-ranking Iranian officials.[5][6][7] The charges included "attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group."[5] This is the first trial where a EU country charges an Iranian official for terrorism.[8]

Background

Belgian police intercepted 36-year-old Nassimeh Naami and 40-year-old Amir Saadouni driving from Antwerp and carrying a detonator and half-a-kilo of TATP explosives. They, 57-year-old Mehrdad Arefani, and Assadollah Assadi, 49, were charged with attempting to carry out a terrorist attack in Paris.[9]

According to prosecutors, Assadollah Asadi "was carrying out a plan organized by Iran’s intelligence services" to "blow up a rally in France of a prominent opposition group to the Iranian government."[10]

Belgian prosecutors "showed how Assadi had brought the professionally assembled 550-gm TATP bomb on a commercial flight to Vienna from Tehran in his diplomatic bag and passed it, together with an envelope containing €22,000 (about US$27,000), to two co-conspirators.[11] Assadi instructed them how to prime and detonate the device. French officials also blamed Iran's ministry of intelligence for the bomb plot.[12]

Assadi denied any involvement in the foiled plot[13] and, according to a police document, "warned authorities of possible retaliation by unidentified groups if he is found guilty."[14]

European officials said the couple "identified Assadi as their longtime handler", while according to German officials, "Assadi professes not to know them".[15]

All four defendants were found guilty, and Assadi was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on 4 February 2021. Naami was sentenced to 18 years, Saadouni 15, and Arefani 17.[16]

While Assadi was entitled to diplomatic immunity where applicable, it was deemed that he was not protected when he was arrested as he was on holiday (in Germany) outside the country where he was posted and hence protected. A lawyer for the prosecution commented after the trial "The ruling shows two things: a diplomat doesn't have immunity for criminal acts ... and the responsibility of the Iranian state in what could have been carnage."[16]

The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency was told by a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry in January 2021 that Assadi's diplomatic immunity had been violated and that he had been a victim of a western trap.[16]

References
  1. "Iranian diplomat skips terror trial for bomb plot that targeted UK MPs among others".
  2. "Iran diplomat to stand trial in Belgium over 'France bomb plot'".
  3. "Iranian diplomat misses first day of his trial over 2018 terror plot".
  4. "Iranian Diplomat on Trial in Belgium, Charged with Plotting Attack". Voice of America.
  5. "Grounds for Optimism as Justice and Accountability Take Priority in Dealing with Iran". intpolicydigest.org.
  6. "Bags of Cash and a Bomb Plot: Inside a Covert Iranian Operation in Europe". Wall Street Journal.
  7. "Facing terror charges, Iran diplomat skips trial opening day". Associated Press.
  8. "In European first, Iranian envoy faces trial over foiled bomb plot". Reuters.
  9. "Belgium tries Iranian diplomat over bomb plot". France 24.
  10. "Iranian Diplomat Accused of Plotting to Bomb Dissidents Goes on Trial in Belgium". The New York Times.
  11. "EU's policy on Iran is a history of failure". www.upi.com.
  12. "France blames Iran for foiled Paris bomb plot". BBC News.
  13. "Belgian court hearings end on Iran diplomat accused of bomb plot". Times of Israel.
  14. "Iranian diplomat warned of retaliation over Belgian bomb plot trial, document shows". Reuters.
  15. "Foiled Paris bomb plot raises fears that Iran is planning attacks in Europe". The Washington Post.
  16. Boffey, Daniel (4 February 2021). "Belgian court sentences Iranian diplomat to 20 years over bomb plot". The Guardian.
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