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Olivier Vandecasteele

Olivier Vandecasteele

1981

Nationality
Belgium
Occupation
humanitarian

Olivier Vandecasteele is an experienced Belgian humanitarian aid worker who was arbitrarily arrested and taken state hostage in Iran on 24 February 2022.

Incarceration history

Facilities

  1. Evin Prison
    Dates unknown

Biography

Olivier Vandecasteele is an experienced Belgian humanitarian aid worker who was arbitrarily arrested and taken state hostage in Iran on 24 February 2022. Following a sham trial, he was firstly sentenced to 28 years in December 2022, then sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes in January 2023. Victim of "Hostage Diplomacy", Vandecasteele was kept hostage "in unbearable conditions" in Iran for 456 days. He was released on 26 May 2023. His case is considered to be "a flagrant violation of international law" following the United Nations and Amnesty International. In 2024, he founded "Protect Humanitarians", an independent and neutral NGO which aims to advocate for a better protection of humanitarian aid workers around the world.

Related people

Same nationality and era where possible; falls back to shared nationality or era.

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    Sven Pichal
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  • Junior Kabunda
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  • Mohamed Abrini
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    Mohamed Abrini (Arabic: محمد أبريني, born 27 December 1984) is a Belgian-born Islamic terrorist of Moroccan descent.

  • Marc Tarabella
    Marc Tarabella
    1963Belgium

    Marc Tarabella (born 11 March 1963) is a Belgian politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium from 2004 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2024.

  • Genevieve Lhermitte
    1966–2023Belgium

    Geneviève Lhermitte (16 November 1966 – 28 February 2023) was a Belgian woman who killed all five of her children on 28 February 2007.

  • Ferdinand Minnaert
    1887–1975Belgium

    Ferdinand Minnaert (27 November 1887 – 26 August 1975) was a Belgian gymnast.

External references