France: Iranian opposition members cleared of abetting immolation

Paris (AFP) – Two members of the Iranian opposition were cleared Wednesday of charges they encouraged a colleague to set fire to herself in a political protest in Paris four years ago.

Sedighe Mojaveri, a member of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), died in June 2003 during a demonstration against a French police round-up of Iranian opposition members. She doused herself with petrol and set herself alight.

 
  Mahmood Aalami, 55, and Hossein Amini Gholipour, 51, were accused of "incitement to suicide", with prosecutors alleging they supplied Mojaveri with the can of petrol. But the judge threw out the case, ruling that "incitement to suicide can only take place in the context of a dialogue between the future victim and one who tries to persuade him or her to do the deed."
 
There were shouts of joy in the Paris court when the verdict was read out.

Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) — the PMOI’s umbrella body –, issued a statement describing the verdict as a "victory for justice and humanity".