The Honorable Eliane Tillieux
July 2, 2022
President, Chamber of Representatives
Chambre des Représentants 1008 Bruxelles, Belgium
Dear Madam President:
I write to you as a Civil Party to the case in the Belgian Court concerning the trial ofAsadollah Assadi and his three accomplices who were arrested immediately before carrying out their planned bombing of the peaceful gathering of the main Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, on June 30, 2018. As was clear from the court proceedings, this wanton act of state terrorism could have killed hundreds of innocent civilians and maimed many more. I was in attendance at the Paris rally that day and know that the death toll could have made the attack the bloodiest act of terrorism in Europe’s modern history.
As a career civil servant in the U.S. Government, having served as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and in senior positions in the White House and the Department of Defense, I have had many occasions to experience firsthand the scourge of terrorism. It was in this capacity that I testified before the court in Antwerp about the consequences of this terror plot and the need to hold the guilty parties accountable.
As you know, the Belgian court did its job and considered the overwhelming evidence before it. The court rejected political pressures and convicted Assadi and his three accomplices, sentencing him to 20 years and his accomplices 15-18 years. As someone whose first position in government was in Brussels, I was proud of Belgium and its judicial system for this courageous act.
Perhaps for that reason, I have been stunned to learn that the Belgian Government has reached an agreement with the Iranian regime that would allow Assadi to return to Iran where, instead of serving his term, he will no doubt be welcomed as a national hero, just as the Lockerbie bomber was when he was released, a spectacle that brought only shame on Scotland and Great Britain. And it is certain that Assadi will continue to plan more terror, this time with a sense of impunity.
It is now the responsibility of the Chamber of Representatives to undo the damage and act in good conscience. If it does not, the world will ask: Will the chamber of Representatives allow Belgium to become a sanctuary for Iranian terrorists? Will the Chamber allow Belgian citizens to taken hostage under false pretexts, only to be exchanged with Iranian state-sponsored terrorists? Will the Chamber allow Belgium to set a precedent for the whole of Europe to succumb to terrorism? Will the Chamber allow the victims of terrorism to view Belgium as a facilitator of terrorism?
The answer to these questions must be an emphatic NO. The Chamber will soon have the opportunity to make a historic decision and reject any bill that would allow terrorists to return to their masters only to continue their heinous acts.
Sincerely
Robert Joseph, Ambassador (ret)