Iranian Court Calls for Repatriation of MEK Members from France

An Iranian court has urged France to repatriate members of the exiled opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) amid a new wave of trials against 104 members of the group in Tehran.

The judge on Tuesday asserted that hosting members of the MEK constitutes a “violation of international conventions against terrorism”.

Meanwhile, Iran and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who sets the regime's policies, have been actively sponsoring terrorism by backing groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Jihad of Palestine through financial and logistical support.

The MEK, which was founded with a Marxist-Islamist ideology before the 1979 Iranian revolution, initially supported the new Islamist government. However, the group soon fell out of favor with the ruling clerics, leading to repression and their eventual exile.

Many MEK members found asylum in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who supported their activities against the Iranian government. After a deadly attack on their camp in Iraq in 2013, which resulted in the deaths of 52 members and seven disappearances, the group relocated to the Camp Ashraf 3 compound in Durres, Albania.

The news comes amid Iran’s record of sham trials and forced confessions, which last year saw the execution of over 800 Iranians amid a brutal and continued crackdown on dissent.