Belgium jails Iranian diplomat for 20 years over bomb plot in France

Assadollah Assadi, a Vienna-based diplomat detained in Belgium, masterminded a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France in 2018

Prosecutors had requested the maximum jail sentence of 20 years on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terror group

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An armed officer stands outside the Antwerp courthouse during the trial of four persons, including an Iranian diplomat, on February 4, 2021. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:44pm, 4 Feb 2021Updated: 6:43pm, 4 Feb 2021

An Iranian official was convicted on Thursday of masterminding a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France in 2018 and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court that rejected his claim of diplomatic immunity.

Assadollah Assadi, a Vienna-based diplomat detained in Belgium, refused to testify during his trial last year, invoking his diplomatic status. He did not attend Thursday’s hearing at the Antwerp courthouse.

Prosecutors had requested the maximum prison sentence of 20 years on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group. Assadi contested all the charges against him.

Three other defendants also received jail sentences.

Heavily armed policemen patrol outside the Antwerp courthouse during the trial of four persons, including an Iranian diplomat, on February 4, 2021. Photo: AFP

During the trial, lawyers for the plaintiffs and representatives of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq opposition group, or MEK, claimed without offering evidence that the diplomat set up the attack on direct orders from Iran’s highest authorities. Tehran has denied having a hand in the plot.