Iran condemns British ruling on resistance group

AFP - Thursday, May 8 07:29 am

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Thursday condemned a British court ruling paving the way for the lifting of a ban on the main armed opposition group to the Islamic republic, and said such a move would promote "terrorism."

The Court of Appeal in London ruled on Wednesday there were "no valid grounds" to contend that a British panel made legal errors when it ordered the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) to be removed from a terrorist blacklist.

Iran "strongly condemns the removal of Hypocrites (PMOI) from a terrorist list and regards this ruling as political, legally baseless and a sign of Britain's dual approach to terrorism," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

"The massive measures taken by the Hypocrites against the Iranian people and officials are known to everyone," he said in a statement, adding that revoking the ban "will only help to promote terrorism and violence."

The PMOI is on the European Union's list of terrorist organisations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze, and has been designated by the US government as a foreign terrorist organisation.

The group welcomed Wednesday's ruling and called for its removal from the EU list.

Formed in the 1960s in opposition to the rule of US-backed shah, the PMOI took part in the 1979 Islamic revolution but is now the main armed opposition group.

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