Iran open to prisoner swap with Belgium

FILE PHOTO: People hold pictures of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele during a protest against his detention in Iran, as he was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges including spying, in Brussels, Belgium January 22, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BRUSSELS/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday that it was open to a prisoner swap with Belgium after the latter's Constitutional Court upheld an exchange treaty in a case that could see a convicted Iranian diplomat switched for a jailed Belgian aid worker.

Aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele was arrested on a visit to Iran in February 2022 and sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges including spying.