The director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Department for European Affairs summoned the Belgian ambassador to convey Iran’s protest against the unlawful ruling of the Belgian court.
The Iranian side said in the meeting that the ruling is in violation of international law and that Belgium has neglected its commitments vis-a-vis Iran, thus the Islamic Republic of Iran will never recognize it.
He stressed that the detention, judicial procedure, ruling, and conviction of Assadi is against the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
He noted that the procedure has been under the influence of the plot designed by the hostile MKO terrorist group, which is clearly seen in the legal process and the remarks made by some of the Belgian authorities.
In the meeting, the Belgian government was asked to follow the human right norms and stop its actions against the Iranian diplomat as soon as possible and liberate him.
The written protest of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was handed over to the Belgian ambassador.
The ambassador promised to convey Iran’s protest to the Belgian Government.
Earlier on Tuesday, the public relations office of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that Iran believes that detention, judicial procedure, and the ruling of a Belgian court against Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi is a violation of international law, in particular the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Iran considers the countries pertaining to the issue accountable for the illegal action, the statement said, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with other relevant institutions, has done its best to dismiss Assadi’s accusations.
Noting that Iran will never recognize the ruling, the statement said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested to the embassies of Germany, Austria, and Belgium for the illegal arrest, adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to resort to all possible legal and diplomatic means and that the diplomatic and legal actions are in progress.
On Thursday, Spokesman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saeed Khatibzadeh said the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the 20-year jail term issued by a court in the Belgian city of Antwerp against Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi.
“As we repeatedly announced earlier, all the procedures that have so far been taken against the diplomat, including his arrest, the case brought against him or the conviction, were all unlawful and amounted to blatant violation of international law, especially the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will never recognize it,” he noted.
“Unfortunately, Belgium and some [other] European countries have taken such illegal and unjustifiable actions [against Assadi] under the influence of the atmosphere that has been created by the hostile MKO terrorist group on Europe’s soil,” Khatibzadeh noted.
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