TEHRAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Belgium have exchanged requests for a prisoner swap between the two countries, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported on Monday.
Iran has submitted a request for the transfer of its national Assadollah Assadi and Belgium also sent a request for the repatriation of its citizen Olivier Vandecasteele, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani was quoted by the agency as saying.
In February 2021, a Belgian court sentenced Assadi, an Iranian diplomat, to 20 years in prison after accusing him of "planning an attack" against the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, which Iran brands as a terrorist organization.
Condemning the ruling as completely unlawful at the time, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said it is in violation of Assadi's diplomatic immunity.
Iranian security forces arrested Vandecasteele in February 2022, accusing him of "spying against Iran under the guise of an aid worker and smuggling."
The Belgian citizen was sentenced to 40 years in prison. ■
