Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, December 4, 2020—The second trial of Assadollah Assadi, an Austria-based Iranian diplomat, and three other terrorists was held on Thursday, December 3, in Antwerp, Belgium. Assadi and his accomplices, Amir Saadouni, Nasimeh Naami, and Mehrdad Arefani, plotted to bomb a massive rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris in 2018.
At this hearing, the lawyers of Assadi and the three other terrorists made their argument before the court.
Assadi once again refused to attend the court hearing, and was represented by his lawyer Dimitri de Béco.
Saadouni, Naami, and Arefani, who had acted under Assadi’s command as “sleeper cells” for many years, were present at the court.
Saadouni’s lawyer, Sven Mary, was previously the lawyer of the ISIS terrorist, Salah Abdeslam involved in Paris attacks on 13 November 2015 (in which 130 people were killed and 683 others were injured).
Due to the huge amount of evidence, the lawyers of the terrorist tried to portray the four as victims!
Saadouni’s lawyer, who couldn’t deny his client had worked for the Iranian intelligence Ministry (MOIS) for 11-years, said Saadouni acted “under pressure” and was in contact with an agent named Mohsen in Tehran.
Mary also tried to downplay the huge terrorist plot and repeatedly said Saadouni was not aware that the bomb explosion could kill people. The bomb weighed 500 grams, which means it was not so big or dangerous, the lawyer claimed, adding that even if it detonated, the scale of damage would be weak. This is while the same amount of explosives were used in terrorist attacks at Zaventem airport, Maelbeek metro in Brussels in 2016, and Bataclan in Paris in 2015.
Saadouni’s lawyer claimed that the plot was a prepared spy operation, but Saadouni was forced to participate in this act. Mary acknowledged that for years, Saadouni had been giving information and went to department 312 of the MOIS, “but this is not the ‘terrorist department’ of the Ministry.”
This is while, in 11-years’ time, Saadouni always had a choice to change course. More than 100,000 Euro’s cash was deposited in his accounts. His rewards included a black Mercedes CLC in which he and Naami were arrested on June 30, 2018. In the days and hours before the foiled plot, Saadouni and Naami received clear instructions from Assadi, who they knew under the name “Danial”. After connecting the bomb wires and charging its batteries, the couple informed Assadi via text messages that “they have installed the ‘PlayStation 4’ (bomb codename) and they will win the cup.”
Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami. Naami was seen as the leader among the couple.
While Nassimeh Naami is considered by the Belgian prosecutors and Federal Police as the leader among the couple, her lawyer Johan Platteau tried to downplay her role.
Platteau said:
“Nasimeh believes they were acting like fools and became tools of the regime. It was not an explosive package, but fireworks. You might get angry if I say this but when the bomb exploded it did not cause any serious damage. This is an issue between Iran and the West in which oil and medical sanctions are part of it. Both Naami and Saadouni are victims of it. Assadi said that he only wanted to scare the MEK. The materials used for the bomb prove to me that Naami and Saadouni's work was fireworks, and if we compare this with the Brussels bombing, it was not professional at all. Their collaboration with the MOIS was not military but political.”
This is while according to the reports of the Belgian Neutralization Service of Explosives Devices (DOVO), the explosive was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and “very professional.”
According to the DOVO report, the explosive device was loaded with 500 grams of TATP and was assembled for maximum efficiency. When the bomb exploded during neutralization it was not at its maximum capacity. Nonetheless, the asphalt of the street and the DOVO neutralization robot were damaged and a police officer who stood 100 meters away from the scene was injured. It is worth noting that Assadi himself is an explosives expert and has a long history of employing IEDs against U.S. troops while he worked at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad.
An X-ray of the bomb with the wireless detonator marked in blue.
Also, according to the report of the Belgian secret service, the MOIS mission inside and outside of Iran is to hunt on opposition members and dissidents, with MEK being their main target.
Also, both lawyers desperately demanded the court not to take the Belgian nationality of the couple, while for years they have been a threat to Belgian security and used their Belgian passports to travel easily around Europe and Tehran to meet with MOIS agents.
Assadi’s lawyer, Dimitri de Béco, repeated the argument that he has diplomatic immunity. This is while Austria, where Assadi was accredited, has already waived his diplomatic statis. De Béco complained that in Germany, Assadi was interrogated without a lawyer. Ironically, the Iranian regime has a dark history of torturing defendants during interrogation and trying them without lawyers and even condemning them to death, but it expects its own diplomats to enjoy full rights.
De Béco also complained that Assadi was put on the EU blacklist before the trial and his assets were frozen. “Assadi says this is a political court, against Iran not against me, therefore he will not attend and asked me to defend him,” de Béco said and added that he is only the lawyer of Assadi and not the lawyer of Iran.
De Béco argued: “Some say immunity is only for the country of the mission, but an Oxford University professor says the immunity law should be dealt with more easily. This is not a simple task and it is very complicated. Assadi went back to his mission, he enjoys immunity. If you do not pay attention to this, everything will fall apart. Some say that he did not go back to Austria, but due to the visit of Iran’s President, he was on his way back to his diplomatic post. Is it possible to prosecute such a person in court? Assadi enjoys immunity and the court has limited jurisdiction in this regard. The court is circumventing Assadi's immunity. Most of the work attributed to Assadi was done in Austria such as bringing the bomb from Tehran.”
However, the Belgian Cassation Court rejected his appeal twice and argued that at the time of his arrest, Assadi said in his statement to the German police that he was “on holiday” with his family. Under article 40, he only enjoys immunity if he passes through or is in the territory of a third state, while proceeding to take up or to return to his post, or when returning to his own country, which was not the case during his arrest.
A notebook was found in Assadi’s car with bomb instructions for the couple.
Also, diplomatic immunity is not meant to smuggle explosives in diplomatic luggage and blow a major event in a European country.
In this regard, Rik Vanreusel, the lawyer of the NCRI, explained that this court is a matter of western freedoms, western democracy, and the rule of law. Vanreusel explained that the regime’s so-called diplomats use their diplomatic immunity to commit terrible crimes in Europe and evade the law. The court should announce that Assadi used a diplomatic cover and this is not allowed, Vanreusel said, adding that Assadi, and by extension the Iranian regime, which never stopped backing him, will be questioned in court.
Assadollah Assadi, “Danial”, covered as a tourist in Luxembourg.
Mehrdad Arefani’s lawyer claimed that he is a poet and not a terrorist or a spy and said the phone Arefani had in his possession was to contact his “brother” in Austria. This is while Arefani had mentioned in his statement to the police that he had not even seen his brother for a long time and did not have any good relations with him. Assadi’s number in was saved in Arefani’s phone under the label “Dadash,” which is the Persian term for “brother.” Also, in the phone’s draft folder, there was an unsent message to Assadi with one word: “OK.” Arefani would be Assadi’s eyes and ears at the scene of the attack.
Mehrdad Arefani would be Assadi’s eyes and ears at the scene of the attack.
Regarding the video recordings of MEK buildings in Brussels, found in Arefani’s home, his lawyer said, “This was for the MEK supporters, so they can find their way to the office.” This while, all the MEK supporters in Brussels are local citizens.
Also, for years Arefani pretended to be an Iranian intellectual poet and a supporter of the opposition. He acted most of the time as “cameraman” in MEK rallies in Brussels. In his confession, Saadouni told the Belgian police that “every time I lied to Assadi about the facts of the MEK events, somehow Assadi knew I was lying. Mehrdad was always present. No matter what. Therefore, I’m sure he was in contact with Assadi.”
In an inspection of Arefani’s home, the police found numerous images, recordings, and documents related to the opposition. Arefani had numerous spy devices such as Camera Spy Glasses and a USB Voice and Audio Recorder. Despite having a modest home and income, by checking the financial accounts of Arefani, the police found a huge amount of cash deposits in his various accounts.
What the three terrorists have in common is a huge amount of cash they received via “a middle person.” Naami, Saadouni, and Arefani, have made more than 100,000 euros in cash deposits to their various bank accounts. It is quite striking that despite Arefani’s claims to have never met with Assadi, or knowing Saadouni and Naami very well, they all have used the same coding system in their communications with Assadi and the correspondence that was discovered in their homes.
As the Belgian VRT channel, reported, in Assadi’s car in Germany, a “wealth of evidence” was found. Also, Ali Majedi, former Iranian regime ambassador, once said, “We have tried hard to stop the extradition of Assadi to Belgium. But Europe came up with documents that we could not easily deny. The least it showed was that Iran was behind the whole operation.”
In this regard, Mohammad Mohadessin, chairman of the NCRI Committee on Foreign Affairs emphasized that the correct path for Europe is to adopt a firm policy. “Two and half years of the regime's chantage and blackmailing failed to prevent this day. The past 40 years show incentives to Tehran render more terrorism and hostage-takings. The corrupt chain of terrorism and taking innocent people hostage to swap them with terrorists, used by Iran’s regime for 40 years, will only be broken by a firm stance. The prosecution of Assadi and his accomplices is a necessary measure,” Mr. Mohaddessin tweeted.
Hearings showed the Belgian citizenship/refugee status was a vital tool used by the three terrorists in the MOIS’ bomb plot. #Iran has used this means for 40 years. IRGC & MOIS operatives in Europe should be indicted, punished & stripped of their citizenship/refugee status.
— Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) December 3, 2020
