The living conditions of a Belgian aid worker detained in Iran have worsened, a representative for his family told The National on Thursday, amid rumours of a possible prisoner swap, which have been denied by the Belgian government.
Last February, Olivier Vandecasteele, 42, was arrested in Iran in what is widely viewed as an attempt to swap him for Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who is imprisoned in Belgium.
Assadi, 50, was sentenced in 2021 to 20 years in prison for orchestrating a plot to blow up an event near Paris, organised by an exiled Iranian opposition group.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo on Thursday told parliament his country was “examining” Tehran's request to allow Assadi to serve his sentence in Iran, one day after the foreign justice ministers denied Iranian reports that a prisoner exchange involving the diplomat and Mr Vandecasteele was imminent.
Quoted by local news agency Belga, Mr de Croo said he had called Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on April 21 to urge him to release Mr Vandecasteele, or at least improve his prison conditions which he described as akin to “torture.”
“Iran is trying to divide us,” he said. “Let’s not give that to them.”
Last month, Belgium's Constitutional Court upheld a prisoner exchange treaty, opening the door to a possible swap.
Belgian politicians cleared the treaty in July but it has been held up by legal challenges from the exiled targeted by Assadi in 2018, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Mr Vandecasteele was sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges of espionage.
He was recently moved from solitary confinement to a 12-square-metre cell shared with two others, said family spokesman Olivier van Steirtegem.
But his prison guards also stripped him of his mattress. He had also been denied a mattress during his first months in detention.
“His situation has worsened. They took away from him the little material comfort that he had,” said Mr van Steirtegem.
Mr Vandecasteele was not informed why he was transferred to a shared cell, said the spokesman.
Since his arrest, Mr Vandecasteele has lost 25kg, suffers from ear, stomach and dental infections and has lost all his toenails.
Mr van Steirtegem said he was doubtful of Iranian claims made earlier this week that a prisoner exchange had been finalised.
“For the moment, news is pretty bad and it doesn’t look like we are any closer to a deal,” he said.
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LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
Titan Sports Academy:
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Location: Inside Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Telephone: 971 50 220 0326
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Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
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Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
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Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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Federer's 19 grand slam titles
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All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
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Roma v Udinese (5pm)
SPAL v Napoli (8pm)
Juventus v Torino (10.45pm)
Sunday
Sampdoria v AC Milan (2.30pm)
Inter Milan v Genoa (5pm)
Crotone v Benevento (5pm)
Verona v Lazio (5pm)
Cagliari v Chievo (5pm)
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Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
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Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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