2 hours agoIranian diplomat sentenced to 20 years in prison for planning bombing at France's major rally
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)An Iranian diplomat has been convicted of attempting to launch a bomb at a large French rally held by an opposition group in Exill. Assadollah Assad, 49, who had worked at the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, received a 20-year prison sentence from the Antwerp Court in Belgium. It was the first time [...]
Assadollah Assad, 49, who had worked at the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, received a 20-year prison sentence from the Antwerp Court in Belgium.
It was the first time an official from Iran faced such charges in the EU since the 1979 revolution, the BBC writes, translates Periscopi.
Three others were also sentenced. They were arrested in a joint police operation from Germany, France and Belgium.
Tens of thousands of people had attended a gathering outside Paris in 2018, including Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
This verdict comes several weeks after US President Joe Biden took office, with Iran hoping he would be gentler than his predecessor Trump, and will lift some of the knee-daunting economic sanctions.
France has blamed the Iranian Intelligence Ministry for the planned attack and has frozen the assets of two senior Iranian officials.
Tehran insists that the whole case was a factory.
