Iranian Official Calls for Prosecuting Members of the People’s Mojahedin

Members of the People’s Mojahedin in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near Tirana on Tuesday (AFP)
Members of the People’s Mojahedin in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near Tirana on Tuesday (AFP)
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Iranian Official Calls for Prosecuting Members of the People’s Mojahedin

Members of the People’s Mojahedin in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near Tirana on Tuesday (AFP)
Members of the People’s Mojahedin in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near Tirana on Tuesday (AFP)

The Assistant for Legal Affairs in the Iranian Presidency called for the trial of members of the opposition Mojahedin-e-Khalq, at a time when the Albanian police issued an indictment against six members of the organization, which is opposed to the regime in Iran.

Mohammad Dehghan, legal affairs assistant to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, said that his country was making legal arrangements to return “the remnants of the hypocrites” to the country, in reference to the designation used by Iranian officials to describe the People’s Mojahedin Organization (MEK).

“We must issue sentences for people who committed crimes against people or state property inside the country and enforce these verdicts abroad,” he said.

The People’s Mojahedin is the most organized faction among the Iranian opposition parties, which includes a wide range of supporters of the Shah’s regime, banned leftist parties, in addition to parties belonging to ethnic groups.

Dehghan, said legal measures were underway in coordination with the ministries of intelligence and foreign affairs as well as the judiciary to return “the hypocrites” to Iran.

The regime alleges that since the establishment of Iran in 1979, the group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian officials and civilians, killing some 17,000 people.

Fars Agency, which is affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, stated that the IRGC’s intelligence service had arrested the group’s “recruitment official” in the provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran, without revealing the identity of the person.

The Iranian vice-president’s comment came at a time when the Albanian police announced the indictment of six members of the MEK, in connection with clashes in Camp Ashraf 3, the headquarters of the group.

The Albanian police said that they had carried out raids at Camp Ashraf 3, which is inhabited by members of the People's Mojahedin, who are suspected of plotting cyber-attacks against foreign institutions, according to local media.

Media reports added that these operations were carried out as part of investigations into cybercrimes, noting that the police confiscated computers and software.

The clashes at Camp Ashraf 3 coincided with a French decision to ban a major demonstration in Paris by the Iranian opposition, due to security threats.

More than 290 French deputies and 76 members of the Senate had called for “supporting the Iranian people in their quest for change" and for taking “strong and decisive measures against the current regime.”

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Ibrahim Raisi, for an hour and a half, on various bilateral and international issues.

 



Prince William Reflects on 'Brutal' Year as Kate Returns to Public Life

Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP
Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP
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Prince William Reflects on 'Brutal' Year as Kate Returns to Public Life

Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP
Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP

Her attendance at the events in London are the first time that Catherine, who is widely known as Kate, will be at a major royal occasion since ending chemotherapy.
Buckingham Palace's announcement came as her husband Prince William described the past year in which both Kate and his father battled cancer as "brutal" and probably the "hardest" of his life, said AFP.
Charles, 75, will lead the royal family at two of the most important events in the royal calendar -- Saturday evening's Festival of Remembrance commemorative concert and Sunday's ceremony at the Cenotaph war memorial.
Senior royals traditionally attend the solemn wreath-laying at the monument near parliament alongside political leaders, current and former members of the armed forces, including war veterans.
But the presence of Charles's wife Queen Camilla, 77, has not yet been confirmed after she withdrew from engagements earlier this week due to a chest infection.
Her attendance would be subject to medical advice nearer the time, the palace said.
William, 42, on Thursday revealed how he had coped since both illnesses were announced.
"Honestly, it's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life," he told reporters at the end of a four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.
"So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult."
The palace in February announced that Charles had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo treatment.
The following month Kate, also 42, revealed that she too had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Both have since made limited returns to public duties, although head of state Charles, who recently toured Australia and Samoa, is still undergoing treatment.
'Crack on'
Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements "when I can".
"I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," William added.
"But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal," he said.
This year's awards ceremony for William's Earthshot prize was held in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The initiative honors projects seeking novel solutions to the challenges facing the world's nature and climate.
William is also committed to a five-year program, Homewards, launched by his philanthropic foundation to tackle homelessness in the UK.
When told he appeared relaxed, William said he "couldn't be less relaxed this year".
"It's more a case of just crack on and you've got to keep going," he said.
"I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself, and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too," he added.
He and Kate have three children together: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis.
In addition to health problems, the royal family has this year faced continuing tensions surrounding William's estranged brother Harry.
Harry's ties with his family have been increasingly fraught since he and wife Meghan quit royal life and moved to California in 2020.
William and Harry used to be close -- a bond that was forged with the death of their mother Princess Diana in 1997. But according to British media reports, they have not spoken to each other in two years.