Thread by @KambizGhafouri

THREAD: In a double first, an Iranian official has been convicted of terrorism on European soil by a European court: #Iran diplomat #Assadollah_Assadi sentenced to 20 years in prison by Antwerp court for plotting thwarted bombing of opposition rally in Paris in 2018: /1

Assadi was convicted of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group. The court rejected his claim of diplomatic immunity, noting that per Belgian/EU law, he was arrested outside his country of mission and not covered by Vienna Convention/2

Nasimeh Naami and Amir Saadouni who Assadi handed the bomb to in a Pizza Hut in Luxembourg, have been sentenced to 18 years and 15 years respectively. /3

https://twitter.com/KambizGhafouri/status/1331204214597574656?s=20

According to the verdict, as accomplices to Assadi, Naami and Saadouni were instructed on how to carry, activate and detonate the bomb, contrary to their claims, they were aware of what was inside the package and its intended use. /4

https://twitter.com/KambizGhafouri/status/1331542203177570305?s=20

The 4th defendant, Mehrdad Arefani was sentenced to 17 yrs in prison, more than the 15 years requested by prosecutors. Upon arrest in Paris, he had one number saved in his phone: Assadollah Assadi, he is said to have acted as the facilitator in the plot /5

https://twitter.com/KambizGhafouri/status/1331204223502065667?s=20

The court also heard how the bomb was made and tested in Iran, then carried on board a commercial flight to Austria, endangering all the civilians on board that flight that day. /6

https://twitter.com/KambizGhafouri/status/1331551936588427264?s=20

Described as professional quality, the half kilo TATP bomb itself was detonated by a robot as the footage shows below. Despite it being a controlled explosion and taking the necessary precautions, a policeman was injured. /7

https://twitter.com/KambizGhafouri/status/1331204204669579264?s=20

The court heard how Naami and Saadouni were instructed to throw the bomb into buses carrying participants should they have failed to get it to the stage and first row area where the VIPs were seated. /8

But the story isn’t quite over yet! A notebook found in Assadi’s possession documents 289 entries, with names, locations and purposes of payments received by agents from Assadi across 11 European countries, where Asadollah Assadi was arrested. /9

https://twitter.com/KambizGhafouri/status/1357272233186643973?s=20