Comments by French Foreign Ministry spokesman make a mockery of the European
Regrettably, on 9 February the French Foreign Ministry spokesman said the following during his press briefing concerning the ruling by the European Communities’ Court of First Instance on 12 December 2006 concerning the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI):
"I believe the organisation was put on the list and that there was a decision by the European judicial authorities, mainly for procedural reasons, that said there were not sufficient grounds for listing it. Matters are now being straightened out so that the organisation can be put back on the European list. We are entirely in favour of it being kept on the list…"
These comments again show that the PMOI’s terrorist listing was politically motivated and now, even before the People’s Mojahedin has had the possibility for any fair hearing, the government of France has already made its decision. This position is tantamount to defying the court ruling, negating absolutely the principle of the presumption of innocence. It amounts to nothing short of a blatant violation of the rule of law.
The emphasis on maintaining the PMOI on the terrorist list is, before anything else, a concession to the religious fascists ruling Iran, at the expense of destroying core European values. It will simply serve to encourage the Iranian regime in its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the establishment of an Islamic empire in the region.
Paulo Casaca, MEP , Co-Chair, Friends of a Free Iran Inter-group
Struan Stevenson, MEP, Co-Chair, Friends of a Free Iran Inter-group & Vice
President of EPP-ED