A conference has been held in Italy regarding Iran’s fight against domestic and international terrorism. The initiative has highlighted how Iran has successfully dealt with a number of terrorist threats since its 1979 Islamic revolution in light of today’s crucial challenges. Our correspondent, Max Civili has more on the story in this report.
Max Civili, Press TV, Rome
An Iranian court has convened for the 19th session of the trial of 104 members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). This terrorist group is responsible for the deaths of over 17,000 Iranians during the 1980s and now operates from exile with Western support.
By Gisoo Misha Ahmadi
Javaid Rehman, who until recently acted as the UN special rapporteur for Iran, recently attended an event by the anti-Iran MKO terror cult.
The former UN special rapporteur for Iran, known for his close ties with the Albania-based anti-Iran terrorist cult MKO, is again under fire for attending an event hosted by the group.
Javaid Rehman, who until recently served as the UN special rapporteur on the “human rights situation in Iran,” was seen participating in an event organized by the MKO terror cult, where he presented another fictitious report on the “human rights situation” in the Islamic Republic.
The event, sponsored by the MKO terror cult, has drawn sharp criticism for Rehman’s association with the group.
The event was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by MKO terror group leader Maryam Rajavi, prompting widespread backlash on social media, with netizens slamming Rehman’s blatant hypocrisy.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani also criticized Rehman, stating that the former rapporteur “has served the MKO terror group on multiple occasions.”
“Javaid Rehman has provided numerous services to the terrorist MKO. It was no surprise to see him attend the gathering of MKO terrorists,” Kanaani wrote on his X page on Monday.
“His evident alignment with this terrorist group under the guise of the UN Special Rapporteur had been notified on many occasions to the UN authorities,” he added.
Javaid Rehman has given numerous services to terrorist MKO. And he was not expected to not attend in the gathering of MKO terrorists.
His evident alignment with this terrorist group under the guise of the UN Special Raaporteur had been notified on many occasions to the UN…
— Nasser Kanaani (@IRIMFA_SPOX) August 26, 2024
Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaee, a senior member of Iran’s Constitutional Council, also took to X to denounce Rehman’s association with the MKO.
“Reports by UNSR (UN special rapporteur) should be ‘free from any kind of extraneous INFL, incitement, PRES, threat or INTRF…,” Kadkhodaee, a noted legal luminary, tweeted.
“Presence of ex-HR rapporteur alongside terror cults speaks volumes. Such SRs r NOT #HumanRights Advocates BUT defenders of terror & atrocity crimes.”
Reports by UNSR should be ‘free from any kind of extraneous INFL, incitement, PRES, threat or INTRF…’. Presence of ex-HR rapporteur alongside terror cults speaks volumes. Such SRs r NOT #HumanRights Advocates BUT defenders of terror & atrocity crimes.
— عباسعلی کدخدایی (@Kadkhodaee_ir) August 26, 2024
Many others on social media echoed these sentiments, calling out the hypocrisy of the UN rapporteur in sharing a stage with members of the notorious terror group who have blood on their hands.
“Javaid Rehman, former UN Rapporteur, who issued biased reports favoring the MKO, now freely attends meetings of this terrorist group,” wrote the Habilian Association, which represents families of Iranian victims of MKO terrorism.
“We’ve warned that the UN’s selection process for Iran rapporteurs is not transparent. Rehman’s support for the MKO must be investigated.”
The MKO is responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 Iranians during the 1980s and 1990s, using terrorism as a weapon against the Iranian nation.
The group was listed as a “terrorist” organization by both the United States and the European Union until about a decade ago. However, tensions with the Islamic Republic led to its de-listing.
The turn of events in recent weeks, from Albania to France, bear testimony to what was clear from the beginning – the multi-billion-dollar investments in the MKO terror cult have been an exercise in futility. The cult is dead but not yet buried.
Rehman’s association with the MKO is not new, but it deepened during his tenure as the UN special rapporteur when he was accused of frequently pushing the terror group’s bogus narratives.
Last month, Kanaani dismissed a report released by Rehman on the human rights situation in Iran as part of broader efforts by adversaries to tarnish the Islamic Republic’s image.
“UN officials, specifically the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), are legally responsible for preventing the exploitation of their positions to pursue biased personal or collective objectives against countries,” Kanaani stated at the time.
Rehman’s reports on Iran have often reflected the MKO’s propaganda, a connection that was particularly evident during the West-backed riots in Iran two years ago.
In an interview with Newsweek in October 2022, Rehman remarked that the riots “posed a threat” to the Islamic Republic but declined to comment on Western support for the bloody unrest.
The 15th trial session of the hearing on crimes of members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group is held in Tehran.
The new round was held at the 11th branch of the criminal court of Tehran province on Tuesday in a case that tries 104 natural persons as well as one legal entity in absentia.
Judge Dehqani, who presided over the session, said judicial notices have already been sent out to all defendants of the case under the Islamic penal code of Iran, stressing that the defendants have neither hired a lawyer nor filed a defense with the court.
He added that anti-terrorism conventions stipulate that prosecution and punishment of those accused of acts of terror fall within the jurisdiction of criminal courts, noting that the conventions are based on the principle of extradition and punishment of the accused.
The states are, therefore, obligated to try those accused of terrorist activities or hand them over to the country which has placed an extradition order, Judge Dehghani pointed out.
He went on to describe the Iranian nation as the biggest victim of terrorism, noting that governments should commit themselves to dealing with terrorism cases as there is no permanent international criminal court with jurisdiction over such cases.
Dealing with acts of terror incorporates principles that do not allow parties to anti-terrorism conventions to host terrorists or issue visas for them.
Judge Dehqani also advised the defendants to return to the country, defend themselves against criminal charges and possibly absolve themselves of liability before it’s too late.
Iran’s top human rights official says the MKO and other terrorist groups suffered another blow by the release of Hamid Nouri, a former judiciary official, from illegal detention in Sweden.
Under the principle of citizenship, countries can prosecute their nationals who have committed crimes outside their territory. Almost all European states have admitted this principle. Terrorism is an international crime and even if it is done with a political motive, it is not considered a political crime and is subject to extradition, he stated.
Accordingly, if a country refuses to extradite those accused of terrorist activities, a red notice will be issued. Therefore, this Iranian criminal court warns the statesmen of those countries hosting terrorists that countries that are members of anti-terrorism conventions are not allowed to offer terrorists refuge, Judge Dehqani stated.
The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.
The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a “terrorist organization.”
In 2012, the group was taken off the US list of terrorist organizations. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations.
French police raid a main headquarters of the MKO terrorist group in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône near Paris, on June 12, 2024.
Iran’s top human rights official has hailed an attack by French police on the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group’s main headquarters in a Paris suburb, saying there will be “no safe place for terrorists.”
In a post on X on Thursday, Kazem Gharibabadi, who serves as head of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights, said the Islamic Republic welcomed the raid by the French police on MKO’s main headquarters in the Paris suburb of Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône that led to the sealing of the premises and the detention of at least three members of the group.
“We welcome the attack of the French police on the main headquarters of the MKO terrorist group, thorough inspection of the headquarters, the arrest of three members of the faction and the sealing of this headquarters. This operation was monitored live by Iran,” he said.
“Iran will leave no safe place for terrorists,” Gharibabadi asserted.
از حمله پلیس فرانسه به مقر اصلی گروهک تروریستی منافقین، بازرسی کامل مقر، بازداشت سه نفر از اعضای گروهک و پلمپ این مقر، استقبال می کنیم. این عملیات بطور زنده توسط ایران رصد می شد. هیچ مکان امنی برای تروریست ها باقی نخواهیم گذاشت.
— Gharibabadi (@Gharibabadi) June 13, 2024
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that France’s security forces on Wednesday raided the headquarters of the MKO – also known as the so-called People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) – and detained three of its members.
The raid occurred at a site housing MKO’s TV studio, the report said, adding that the group had to substitute live programming with archival content for several hours.
According to the report, security forces also seized a cache of weapons hidden in the headquarters, suggesting the persistent engagement in terrorist and criminal activities by this group.
50 Years later
50 Years later
MKO, founded initially on Islamic ideology and tilted toward Marxist armed struggle, later shifted to pure Marxism, with no Islamic Ideology, gaining widespread notoriety lasting up to the present day.
The MKO terrorist group is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranian civilians during the past four decades.
The notorious group sided with Saddam Hussein during Iraq’s war with Iran in the 1980s but fell out of favor with Baghdad after he was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2003.
Former US vice president Mike Pence (L) and Maryam Rajavi, ringleader of the anti-Iran terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), meet in the Albanian town of Manza, on June 23, 2022. (Photo by AFP)
The anti-Iran terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) is set to hold its annual gathering in Germany as France has refused to grant approval for the meeting.
Every year, the MKO terrorists hold an event in the French town of Villepinte, near Paris, with rent-a-crowd participants.
This year, however, they will hold their gathering in Berlin on June 29.
Reports say France has opposed the event as it plays host to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris later this year.
The Summer Olympics will kick off in the French capital on July 26. The games will end on August 11 before the Paralympic Games take place on August 28-September 8.
The MKO is responsible for a campaign of bombings and assassinations in Iran. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.
The notorious terror cult also fought alongside Iraqi forces in the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s war on Iran in the 1980s.
Despite its crimes and killings, the US and the European Union removed the MKO from their lists of terrorist organizations in order to use them as proxies against Iran.
Members of the terrorist group Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization or MKO are standing trial in absentia.
A few years ago, MKO elements were relocated from their Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s Diyala Province to Camp Hurriyet (Camp Liberty), a former US military base in Baghdad, and later sent to Albania.
Iranian officials have condemned the hypocrisy of the US and its European allies in supporting the terrorist group that has Iranian blood on its hands.
After 40 plus years of bombings and assassinations attacks in Iran, members of the terrorist group Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization or MKO are standing trial in absentia.
Gisoo Misha Ahmadi
An Iranian court has held the first public hearing on a lawsuit over the Mujahedin-e-Khalq’s terror organization’s crimes in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The trial reportedly addresses the conduct of the group’s main ringleaders.
Farzaneh Ashoorioun
Finally, its time for a trial for terror-lined treason, domestically. And for human rights violations, internationally. Iran is calling for this, and within its own borders it held a hearing for MKO crimes.
The MKO or MEK is termed the Monafeqin in Iran, meaning the Hypocrites. The official trial-in-absence of the defendants, MKO chiefs, held today 21 Azar / 12 Dec 2023.
Albania has forced the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) to leave its camp in the country. Now the terrorists are apparently left undecided on a new destination.
The MKO ringleaders have reportedly made arrangements for the relocation of members from their camp in Albania to an undisclosed location in Canada with resident permits of the country or temporary passports in the first step.
An informed security source told Tasnim news agency on Saturday that following mounting pressure from the Tirana government, the MKO ringleaders decided to relocate some of the terrorists to Germany and some to Canada.
This file picture shows a view of the entrance to the Ashraf-3 camp, which houses members of the anti-Iran terrorist cult Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, in the town of Manëz, near Tirana, Albania. (Photo via Twitter)
The MKO’s plan for the evacuation of the Ashraf-3 camp in the northwestern region of Tirana and relocation of the terrorists to a new country has sparked disputes among its members.
The MKO leaders last month come up with the relocation plan after Albanian police authorities and the country’s Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime introduced a series of strict restrictions on residents of the Ashraf-3 camp, following the discovery of incriminating evidence.
The MKO ringleaders have failed to convince French officials to agree with the relocation of a number of the terrorists to a camp in Auvers-sur-Oise commune on the northwestern outskirts of Paris.
Albania has put various restrictions on the group.
Back in June, Albanian police raided the Ashraf-3 camp on the grounds that the MKO was involved in “terror and cyber attacks” against foreign institutions.
Authorities seized 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp.
In early July, Iran gained access to a batch of electronic devices and storage equipment confiscated during the search operation conducted by Albanian police.
Earlier in August, Albanian police reportedly took control of the Ashraf-3 camp and imposed a strict curfew over the entire area.
In the latest move by Albania to restrict the MKO’s terrorist and cyber activities and tighten the noose around the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Tirana government cut off access to internet at the Ashraf-3 camp late in August.
It was the latest move by Albania to restrict the terrorist and cyber activities the MKO devises at the Ashraf-3 camp.
Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama declared the MKO must leave the country if it wants to use Albanian soil to fight against Iran, adding that his country has no intention of being at war with Iran and “does not accept anyone who has abused our hospitality.”
The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to MKO’s brutal acts of terror, including the killing of innocent women and children.
The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a “terrorist organization.”
In 2012, the group was taken off the US list of terrorist organizations, marking Washington’s decision to begin collaborating with the notorious terrorist group in plans to undermine the Islamic Republic of Iran. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations.
