{"id":234557,"date":"2021-02-05T10:42:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T15:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=234557"},"modified":"2023-02-01T05:13:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T04:13:21","slug":"international-news-outlets-widely-cover-conviction-of-irans-diplomat-terrorist-assadollah-assadi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/terrorism-a-fundamentalism\/international-news-outlets-widely-cover-conviction-of-irans-diplomat-terrorist-assadollah-assadi\/","title":{"rendered":"International News Outlets Widely Cover Conviction of Iran\u2019s Diplomat-Terrorist Assadollah Assadi"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"international-news-outlets-widely-cover-conviction-of-irans-diplomat-terrorist-assadollah-assadi\"<\/p>\n

A court in Antwerp, Belgium sentenced Iran\u2019s diplomat-terrorist Assadollah Assadi<\/a> and his three accomplices to a total of 70 years in prison. Assadi\u2019s conviction received vast coverage in the international media.<\/p>\n

The Belgian court rejected Assadi\u2019s claim of diplomatic immunity and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. The other three agents of the Iranian regime, Nasimeh Naami, Mehrdad Arefani, and Amir Saadouni, were sentenced to 18, 17, and 15 years in prison, respectively. Their Belgian citizenship was also revoked. Assadi and his agents attempted to bomb the annual \u201cFree Iran\u201d gathering<\/a> of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI<\/a>) in 2018 in Paris.<\/p>\n

The following are some of the media coverages of Assadi\u2019s conviction:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reuters – In first for Europe, Iran envoy sentenced to 20-year prison term over bomb plot<\/h3>\n

\"Iran-assadi-reuters-05022021-min\"<\/p>\n

Assadolah Assadi was found guilty of attempted terrorism after a foiled plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) near Paris in June 2018, Belgian prosecution lawyers and civil parties to the prosecution said.<\/p>\n

The third counsellor at Iran\u2019s embassy in Vienna, he was arrested in Germany before being transferred to Belgium for trial. French officials said he was running an Iranian state intelligence network and was acting on orders from Tehran.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Reuters, NCRI chief Maryam Rajavi called the ruling a turning point as it proved Iran was carrying out state-sponsored terrorism. She said the EU could not stand by without reacting even if some in the 27-nation bloc were pushing for more dialogue with Tehran.<\/p>\n

\u201cSilence and inaction would be the worst policy and embolden the regime in its behaviour,\u201d she said, speaking through an interpreter, calling for EU sanctions on key officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who heads up nuclear diplomacy with the major powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe European Union and governments must hold the regime accountable,\u201d Rajavi said.<\/p>\n

BBC – France bomb plot: Iran diplomat Assadollah Assadi sentenced to 20 years<\/h3>\n

\"BBC-Iran-assadi-05022021\"<\/p>\n

Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the group targeted by the plot, described the conviction as “a brilliant victory for the people and resistance of Iran and a heavy political and diplomatic defeat for the regime”.
\nIn a statement she claimed the plot had been authorised at the highest levels in Iran, by the president and supreme leader and that the intelligence ministry had been given the task of carrying it out.<\/p>\n

\n

British former senior government minister Theresa Villiers was at the rally – in support of a constiuent whose wife was murdered in Iran. She told me was \u201castonished\u201d by the plot and that there could have been a \u201cterrible\u201d death toll. 6\/ pic.twitter.com\/24C6BSXUi3<\/a><\/p>\n

— Nick Beake (@Beaking_News) February 4, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n