Raisi meets with newly-released diplomat Assadollah Assadi
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meets with recently-released diplomat Assadollah Assadi who was detained on false charges in Belgium and Germany.
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A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on August 19, 2023, shows President Ebrahim Raisi (L) meeting in Tehran with Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi, who was released in May after being held in Belgium. (AFP)
Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi, held a meeting with Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat who had been detained in Belgium and Germany on false terror-related charges and was subsequently released in May.
On Friday, coinciding with the 33rd anniversary of the return of Iranian soldiers who were held captive by Saddam Hussein's regime during the 1980s war on Iran, Raisi visited Assadi in his home.
During the meeting, Raisi conveyed his congratulations on Assadi's release and praised his family's resilience and patience throughout his unjust confinement.
Raisi criticized those who claim to advocate human rights, noting that their actions disregard established regulations and international laws, demonstrating a clear and unprecedented violation of diplomatic immunity.
Assadi, on his part, shared details of his detention and imprisonment in German and Belgian prisons with the President.
Read next: Amir-Abdollahian praises steadfastness of released diplomat Assadi
A recap
Assadi returned to Iran on May 26 after five years of captivity, facilitated by an agreement mediated by Oman.
In June 2018, Belgian authorities revealed that they had intercepted a vehicle transporting homemade explosives and alleged that the Iranian diplomat had supplied the material to individuals in Belgium.
The diplomat was accused of planning an attack against the anti-Iranian Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) terrorist group, a claim strongly rejected by Iranian authorities.
Subsequently, a Belgian court sentenced the diplomat, who held the position of third counselor at Iran's Embassy in Vienna, to a 20-year prison term.
