The fourteenth session of the court addressing the charges against the main members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (aka MEK, MKO, PMOI) was held, during which three primary requests from the families of the victims were presented.
According to Tasnim news agency, the fourteenth session of the court investigating the charges against 104 members of the MEK, as well as the organization's status as a legal entity, was held publicly on Tuesday, June 11th. The session took place in the Eleventh Branch of the Tehran Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Dehqani Nia, along with the court advisors Mr. Turak, Mr. Nasseri, and Mr. Vaziri, who represented the prosecutor's office, at the Imam Khomeini Judicial Complex.
At the beginning of the session, Judge Dehqani Nia requested the plaintiffs' attorney to take the stand and present their statements.
The plaintiffs' attorney, upon taking the stand, stated: "In the previous session, we addressed the terrorist nature of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization. As the attorney for the plaintiffs and the families of martyrs, I find it necessary to file a complaint. The families of the martyrs have three demands: first, compensation for damages; second, the payment of blood money (diyah); and third, compensation for the injuries and losses resulting from the crimes committed against them."
He added: "The issued indictment outlines the charges related to the terrorist activities and crimes of the so-called Mujahedin-e-Khalq group."
Regarding the crimes and charges against the MEK as a legal entity, he stated: "A true mujahed (holy warrior) is someone who struggles for the people, not someone who hijacks planes, attacks cultural sites and universities, plants bombs, or kills innocent children and people under the pretext of opposing the government."
He continued: "Terrorism is defined as an uprising against a legitimate system accepted by the people, which clearly describes each of the crimes committed by this organization and its members. This definition is based on both the 1994 Law on Combating the Financing of Terrorism and various international conventions, including the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism. Based on these laws, I request the conviction of this organization and its members for terrorism."
The plaintiffs' attorney further stated: "The crimes committed by this group continue to this day and remain a significant threat to the internal and external security of the country. Their involvement in providing effective intelligence cooperation for organized espionage with the hostile Ba'ath regime of Iraq and collaboration with a hostile foreign government during the years 1986 to 1989 is evident. During the eight-year imposed war, this group collaborated with Saddam and pursued their own interests against Iranian prisoners in Iraq. In the years 1979, 1980, and 1981, and even thereafter, they did not refrain from any action in collaboration with foreign governments against Iran."
He continued: "They are responsible for inciting the public to riot and disrupting public order, collaborating with other principal actors (107 central members of the organization) with the intent to undermine domestic security and create public anxiety through statements, speeches, and propaganda activities. They have conspired against the internal and external security of the country, and against the lives and property of the people, through failed or thwarted terrorist acts and organized efforts to incite street riots by exploiting civil protests and training their followers in terrorist activities."
The plaintiffs' attorney added: "They have orchestrated multiple, organized kidnappings accompanied by physical and psychological torture to advance the organization's armed and violent objectives. They have intentionally destroyed public and private property, created avenues to recruit and indoctrinate members with extremist ideologies from Islam, Marxism, and feminism, and plotted criminal actions against the citizens of the Islamic Republic through their complex organizational structure. They have financed these criminal activities, procured weapons and equipment for committing the crimes outlined in the case, and facilitated armed robberies and the looting of public and private assets, dividing the tasks meticulously within their organized system. They have also engaged in organized terrorist activities resulting in injuries to individuals to further the organization's goals."
Furthermore, the plaintiffs' attorney stated: "The indictment does not include the names of two key members of the MEK, Masoud Keshmiri and Mohammadreza Kolahi Samadi, who were involved in the bombing of the Prime Minister's office and the Islamic Republican Party headquarters. Masoud Keshmiri, who was a principal member of the MEK, unfortunately, also served as the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council."
The judge asked: "Do you have complaints against these individuals?"
The plaintiffs' attorney responded: "Unfortunately, these individuals are not mentioned in the indictment. I request that their names be added to the indictment. In addition, which the indictment has not addressed recent events."
He further added: "According to Article 508 of the Islamic Penal Code, we request the maximum punishment for the defendants."
He explained: "Anyone who incites or provokes people to fight or kill each other with the intention of disrupting national security, regardless of whether it leads to murder or looting, shall be sentenced to one to five years in prison. We see in all their media that they easily encourage people to commit murder, terrorize individuals, and engage in destruction, providing them with weapons, as we witnessed in the incidents of 2022 in the country."
The plaintiffs' attorney stated: "The commitments of governments and the international community to combat terrorism are of utmost importance. The UN Security Council, as one of the main international bodies fighting terrorism, has passed numerous resolutions urging governments to comply with measures against terrorism. The United Nations and the Security Council adopted Resolution 1267 in 1997, which identifies various groups such as al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, and their affiliates as terrorists. Despite the UN and Security Council being influenced by the United States, where resolutions are passed or rejected based on US interests, it is notable that the US and European countries initially listed the MEK as a terrorist organization, only to remove it from the list in 2010. This removal indicates support from the US and other international countries, similar to their support for groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS."
He continued: "These bodies pass resolutions they themselves do not adhere to, removing groups from the terrorism list when it suits their interests and labeling others as terrorists when it does not. It is striking how countries like Albania, France, Germany, and the US allow MEK members to reside in their countries and permit the group’s leaders and members to operate freely. This highlights the double standards these countries hold in their approach to combating terrorism."
Following this, Seyyed Mohammad Reza Mousavifar, a professor of criminal law, criminology, and a terrorism scholar, took the stand. He stated: "We are witnessing how some governments, such as the current government of Albania, easily support terrorism by hosting this and other terrorist groups."
He elaborated: "The terrorist acts committed by members of these groups fall under the category of international organized crimes as defined by the Palermo Convention, which many countries have accepted. The political motives behind these groups' actions are clearly outlined as criminal under this international convention."
This legal expert continued: "We have seen cases where members of these groups experienced forced migrations, threats, and a kind of ethnic cleansing. These issues are addressed under the statutes of international criminal courts as examples of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Although these groups are not states, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has the authority to investigate such cases within the framework of organized communities, and the prosecutor of the ICC, along with member states, can take up these issues."
He concluded: "Based on the internal documents presented by the attorneys and plaintiffs to the court, which will certainly be substantiated by the court, we can pursue this matter."
Judge Dehqani Nia then stated: "Today, the people of Iran and the world will witness and verify the truth of claims made at the level of a U.S. president. A country whose president declares, 'We will declare war on terrorism,' must examine whether this declaration is compatible with hosting individuals accused of crimes against humanity through terrorist actions."
He continued: "A country cannot declare war on terrorism while simultaneously hosting individuals accused of committing terrorist acts, especially in a court where, despite the severity of the terrorist acts, the defendants have been granted the right to choose their own legal representation. All court sessions have been conducted in accordance with the notice and scheduling of the initial hearing provided to the defendants."
The judge further stated: "This court is examining the charges against individuals who are members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization of Iran, accused of crimes against humanity through terrorist actions. European governments, which continuously pass treaties in the fight against terrorism, should reconsider their stance on hosting individuals accused of terrorism and holding joint sessions with them."
The judge continued: "In 2004, George Bush declared a war on terrorism and stated that legal measures were not necessary for this war. In contrast, the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the current indictment, considers itself one of the greatest victims of terrorism. However, instead of military actions, Iran seeks judicial and legal recourse within the accepted and legal framework of its criminal justice system."
He added: "After the September 11 attacks in the U.S., many countries adopted international counter-terrorism laws, including the European countries that currently host the defendants in this case. These countries have committed to upholding laws in the fight against terrorism."
Referring to the U.S. actions in 2004, he stated: "The U.S. used the pretext of the attacks on two buildings to attack other countries in the name of fighting terrorism. Today, as the head of this court, I address U.S. officials: Based on this indictment, which claims that the honorable people of Iran and the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran are the primary victims, if you stand by your previous claims, you must refrain from hosting, cooperating with, or holding joint sessions with the accused in this case (namely Masoud Rajavi and Maryam Qajar Azdanlou, known as Maryam Rajavi) until the court processes their charges according to judicial standards."
He referred to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Act passed on March 3, 2016, and its applicability to the crimes committed. He said, "According to Article 1 of this law, the collection and gathering of funds and assets by any means, whether their source is legal or not, or the use of all or part of the financial resources obtained, such as currency smuggling, soliciting financial and monetary aid, money transfers, buying and selling financial and credit papers, direct or indirect account opening or credit provision, and any economic activity by individuals for providing to terrorists or terrorist organizations is considered financing terrorism and is a crime."
The lawyer continued: "Women joined the organization with false hopes and, after a few years, realized their mistake and wanted to leave the group, but they were not allowed to, leading them to commit suicide. For example, in France, Massoud Rajavi and the MEK, due to pressure from the French government, forced women to self-immolate in front of the French Parliament to create a disturbance and achieve their desired concessions."
In continuation, Hojjatoleslam Sedaghat, a researcher, spoke: "When we say one of the charges against the organization is crimes against humanity, it is because of the crimes they have committed against women, including their own female members. One should fear those who commit atrocities against themselves."
Sedaghat further referred to the words of Nadereh Afshari, a former member of the group, who said, "The leaders of the organization do not value human life. They consider human life worthless and destroy the emotional bond between mother and child."
He said: "If we look at the treatment of women in the MEK, part of it goes back to the time of Hanifnejad; he believed that if a woman and a man had a relationship as spouses, it would negate the struggle. This extremism led to team houses turning into houses of corruption and prostitution after him, where women were passed around."
He pointed to the organizational marriages within the MEK and said: "Girls living in these team houses were under the control of the house leader and were taught that their lives, property, and religion were under the command of their organizational leader. Given that the leaders had no ethical commitment, they either sexually exploited them themselves or traded them in intra-organizational deals."
He continued, mentioning the divorces in 1989, which were called the Ideological Revolution, and said: "They took young women who were students and sent them to Iraq without training for an operation named Eternal Light, which failed. This failure marked the beginning of the ideological divorces."
He continued: "This operation led Massoud Rajavi to believe that the reason for the failure was that the participants were thinking of their spouses during the operation. This failure became an excuse for ideological divorces."
Sedaghat stated: "All male and female members of the MEK were separated from each other in a specific manner in 1989, and this continues to this day. No man or woman in the MEK is allowed to marry. After the divorces, their children were sent to European countries without knowing who their parents were and without their parents knowing where their children were sent. This was a crime committed against their own members."
In conclusion, the judge stated: "As the judge of this court, I announce that a contact number will be provided, allowing even Iranians abroad to file complaints against the MEK and its host countries with the Tehran Criminal Court. If we receive any complaints against the host countries, we will address them according to the law."