Latest news with #BehrouzEhsaniEslamloo
Reuters
5 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Iran executes two members of opposition group for attacking infrastructure
DUBAI, July 27 (Reuters) - Iran executed two members of the banned Mujahideen-e-Khalq group for attacking civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles, the judiciary news outlet Mizan said on Sunday, amid criticism from Amnesty International over a "grossly unfair" trial. Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, identified as "operational elements" of the MEK, were sentenced to death in September 2024 - a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, which denied their request for a retrial, Mizan said. "The terrorists, in coordination with MEK leaders, had ... built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centres," the report said. The defendants were indicted with "moharebeh", - an Islamic term meaning waging war against God - destroying public property and "membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security." Amnesty International said that Ehsani-Eslamloo and Hassani were arrested in 2022 and maintained their innocence during a trial which the rights group called "grossly unfair and marred by allegations of torture and forced confessions.' "According to informed sources, agents interrogated them without lawyers present and subjected them to torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings and prolonged solitary confinement, to extract self-incriminating statements," it said in January. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the number of people executed in Iran rose to at least 901 in 2024, the highest number since 2015. The MEK, known in English as People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, was a powerful leftist-Islamist group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and U.S. targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the MEK has opposed the Islamic Republic and its leadership in exile has been Paris-based. The group was listed as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. and the European Union until 2012.
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Iran executes two members of exiled group for carrying out attacks
Iran on Sunday executed two men after convicting them of carrying out attacks on behalf of the exiled opposition People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), the country's judiciary said. "The death sentences of two operational members of the... terrorist group were carried out this morning after legal procedures and confirmation by the supreme court," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported. Mehdi Hasani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo were found guilty of manufacturing improvised launchers and mortars and launching attacks on civilians and infrastructure, the judiciary said, adding that they "aimed to disrupt social order and endanger the safety of innocent civilians". "The terrorists, in co-ordination with MEK leaders, had set up a team house in Tehran, where they built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centres, and also carried out propaganda and information-gathering activities in support of the MEK," the report said. The defendants were indicted with "moharebeh", an Islamic term meaning waging war against God, destroying public property and "membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security". The report did not state when the attacks took place and whether it was related to last month's Israel-Iran war, during which Tehran accused opposition groups, such as MEK, for providing support to Israel from inside the country. Since the war, Iran has cracked down on suspected Mossad affiliates or members. Both suspects were described as long-time members of the MEK, a group designated as a terrorist group by Iran. The MEK was a leftist-Islamist group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and US targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Islamic revolution. The group has since been exiled. It was also listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union until 2021.
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Iran executes two members of banned group for targeting infrastructure
Iran executed two members of the outlawed Mujahideen-e-Khalq opposition group for targeting civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles, the judiciary news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday. Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, 'operational elements' of the MEK, were sentenced to death in a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, Mizan said. 'The terrorists, in coordination with MEK leaders, had set up a team house in Tehran, where they built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centers, and also carried out propaganda and information-gathering activities in support of the MEK,' the report said. The defendants were indicted with 'moharebeh,' an Islamic term meaning waging war against God, destroying public property and 'membership in a terrorist organization with the aim of disrupting national security.' Semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday that Ehsani-Eslamloo had been arrested in 2022 following an explosion at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology claimed by the MEK. The MEK, known in English as People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, was a powerful group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and US targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the MEK has opposed the Islamic Republic and its leadership in exile has been Paris-based. The group was listed as a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union until 2012.
