Addressing a human rights meeting organized by Iran's High Council for Human Rights on Tuesday, Asadi said that during his 5-year imprisonment in Germany and Belgium, he was not allowed a single visit from his family members. He was only able to have limited telephone contact with his family for one year, he recalled.
Asadi, who was arrested in Germany in 2018 on his way back to Austria, recounted that during his 101-day detention in Germany, he was subjected to "extensive torture and abuse." He was the third counselor at Iran's Embassy in Vienna at the time.
The former diplomat said he was held in poor conditions along with two dozen "special individuals", despite a psychiatrist's recommendation to transfer him to normal accommodations.
Asadi added that German authorities imposed the strictest legal regime for his detention.
Kazem Gharib-Abadi, secretary of the High Council for Human Rights, condemned the actions of the German government, stating that the arrest of the Iranian diplomat was a clear violation of international law and the Vienna Convention, carried out without any justification or evidence.
He said the German and Belgian authorities subjected Asadi to various forms of psychological and mental torture during his imprisonment.
Asadi was falsely accused of plotting an attack against the anti-Iran Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO) terrorist organization and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court. He returned home last May after five years.
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