Iran’s regime suffers two major blows in Stockholm and Brussels

Following 92 court sessions in Stockholm through the course of 33 months, former Iranian regime official Hamid Noury was sentenced to life in prison for committing serious crimes against international law and murder during the summer 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners across the country. Most of the victims were members and supporters of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The court ruling emphasizes that former Iranian regime supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini ordered that MEK members/supporters steadfast on their position and political beliefs must be executed and that this case is in reference to the execution of MEK members/supporters in the 1988 massacre and a number of Marxist prisoners.

This is the result of a massive legal and political campaign launched by the Iranian opposition MEK and their supporters across the globe that has defeated a plot pursued by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and its operatives abroad to hijack the justice movement against the MEK.

“The Swedish court ruling regarding Hamid Noury was issued under the influence of allegations raised by the MEK,” according to a Thursday report wired by Tehran’s official news agency.

“We are not surprised by the MEK’s depth of treachery against the [regime]. However, we are deeply disappointed that Sweden has succumbed to the MEK’s notorious propaganda objectives and has placed its judiciary at the service of their goals,” said the Iranian regime Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani on Thursday.

Of course, Tehran’s rage over their plot being foiled is completely understandable.

Three years ago, Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials of the mullahs’ apparatus were deeply concerned about the progress made by the MEK-led justice movement regarding the regime’s decades of human rights violations.

Tehran sought to take advantage of Noury’s court procedures to minimize the importance of the 1988 massacre, decrease the MEK’s place in this part of Iran’s history, and derail the entire justice movement. For this purpose, they sought to prevent the MEK from becoming involved in the Noury trial, provide low-quality testimonies orchestrated by Tehran and the MOIS, and thus influence the Swedish court into acquitting Hamid Noury and forever curtailing the 1988 massacre altogether. As a final nail in the coffin, Tehran would then claim the entire justice movement is nothing but brouhaha based on unfounded allegations.

The MEK’s role in the Noury court proceedings, along with thousands of their devoted supporters across the globe, placed the hearing on the right track. “More than 80 witnesses, most of which are MEK members, were provided this chance by the court to testify against Hamid Noury,” read in part a report wired by the MOIS-linked Mehr news agency on April 30.

The testimony provided by MEK witnesses and plaintiffs had such an impact that the judges ordered the court to be transferred to Albania—where most MEK members are stationed—for two weeks in order to directly hear from MEK witnesses and plaintiffs. These testimonies played a key role in the prosecutors’ request for life imprisonment for Noury due to his role in the 1988 massacre.

This ruling not only defeated Tehran’s plot to divert the justice movement but also shed new light on the 1988 massacre as one of the most egregious crimes in modern history and emphasized yet again the right cause of Iran’s justice movement.

The Swedish court ruling against Hamid Noury coincided with a massive rally by freedom-loving Iranians and MEK supporters in Brussels. The government of Belgium and the Iranian regime sought to push through a secret prisoner exchange agreement that would secure the release of Tehran’s convicted diplomat-terrorist Assadollah Assadi, currently serving a 20-year prison term for his role in a foiled 2018 bomb plot targeting a massive rally north of Paris held in support of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The Belgian Parliament was scheduled to hold a vote on the agreement, only to see the motion postponed for a second time at the request of the Belgian government. Brussels is clearly under extreme pressure due to the widespread campaign that has raised attention to its shameful deal with Tehran, known best as the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism. The Belgian government is probably concerned that members of the ruling coalition may boycott the Parliament voting session, thus resulting in the bill failing to receive the majority approval necessary for its adoption.

With the vote postponed to Tuesday, July 19, it is crystal clear that the pro-appeasement parties and circles in Europe will be busy influencing Belgian MPs to vote in favor of the proposed agreement with the Iranian regime. However, the Iranian Resistance and their supporters, following their victory in Stockholm, consider this opportunity in Brussels a chance to further their efforts against the mullahs’ regime in Tehran and their appeasement-driven supporters in the West.