NewsSpecial WireBelgian lawmakers question terror listing of Iran opposition

Belgian lawmakers question terror listing of Iran opposition

-

Iran Focus: London, Apr. 29 – The Belgian Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution urging the European Union to re-examine the terror label placed on the main Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK or PMOI), according to the parliament’s website. Iran Focus

London, Apr. 29 – The Belgian Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution urging the European Union to re-examine the terror label placed on the main Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK or PMOI), according to the parliament’s website.

Lawmakers called on the Belgian government to reconsider the “listing of the PMOI as a terrorist organisation” within the framework of the European Union and on the basis of relevant information available.

The resolution, which was adopted unanimously on Thursday, also said that “punitive measures” must be considered if Iran continued to defy the international community over its suspected nuclear weapons activities.

It “strongly condemns” remarks by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatening the existence of the state of Israel and denying the Holocaust as a “myth”.

It further called on Tehran to “immediately cease all forms of support for terrorist groups”.

It expressed deep concern over human rights violations in the Islamic Republic, citing public hangings, brutal punishments, arbitrary arrests, physical and psychological torture in prisons, assassination of dissidents, and discrimination against women, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and violations of freedom of speech and conscience

The MPs vote followed a similar resolution unanimously adopted by the Belgian Senate in December which also urged the government to re-evaluate the terror listing of the MeK.

“In the absence of a precise definition of terrorism, branding Iranian opposition groups as terrorist for their struggle against a regime which is responsible for systematic violations of human rights must be avoided”, the Senate resolution read.

The MeK was listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union in mid-2002, in what the EU’s then-Spanish leadership called “a goodwill gesture to Tehran”.

Latest news

Farmers Resume Protests in Isfahan, Education Workers Protest Low Wages

Economic protests in Iran on Monday, April 15, continued with farmers gathering in Isfahan province (central Iran) and school...

Iran’s Rial Drops to Record Low After Attack Against Israel

The exchange rate of the US dollar in the Iranian free market experienced a surge of over four percent...

Iran’s Regime Seizes Ship in Hormuz Strait

A video seen by the Associated Press shows Iranian commandos attacking a ship near the Strait of Hormuz, an...

Argentine Judiciary Holds Iran and Hezbollah Responsible for AMIA Bombing

In the latest opinion on the case of the 1994 bombing of the Jewish center of Buenos Aires (AMIA...

Dramatic Drop in Iran Gas Production Is Inevitable

Mansour Daftarian, the head of the Iranian Gas Engineering Association, has announced the beginning of a decline in pressure...

Iran: Cost of Housing Construction Unpredictable

Mohammad Reza Rezaei Koochi, the head of the Construction Commission of the Iranian regime's Majlis (Parliament), has announced a...

Must read

Delhi’s Tehran conundrum

Wall Street Journal Europe: India is damned if it...

Iran will not block oil passage: navy chief

AFP: Tehran has no plans to block the Straits...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you