Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Khadija Al-Hajj, the Belgian Foreign Minister, said upon her arrival at the European Union foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels today, Monday. We must send a clear and firm message to the Iranian authorities. And the release of our European brothers unjustly detained in Iran. This is the message I will pass on to my counterparts in the European Union.
The Belgian government is seeking to release one of its citizens, Oliver Vandecastel, who is an activist in the field of providing humanitarian aid. The minister's remarks came hours after a demonstration of support in Brussels under the title: "We are not alone, and Olivier Vandecastel is not alone."
The Belgian media said that the fate of the Belgian humanitarian activist imprisoned in Iran now worries far beyond his circle of friends and family. No less than 1,200 people gathered in Brussels on Sunday. And the crowd sang the saddest "Happy Birthday" in history. Olivier Vandecastel celebrated his 42nd birthday in a cell last Thursday.
They were teary-eyed as they chanted, “Free Olivier.” People rallied on Place Albertine in Brussels to demand the release of Olivier Vandecastel, a Belgian humanitarian aid imprisoned in Iran for eleven months, local media said.