PMOI assets frozen illegally, court says

BRUSSELS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- An EU court ruled Thursday member states had illegally frozen the funds of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, a group seeking regime change in Iran.

Though the group will remain on the European list of terrorist organizations, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities ruled Thursday the evidence presented was "manifestly insufficient to provide legal justification for continuing the freeze" of PMOI assets.

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political wing of the PMOI, called the verdict a success.

"The court's verdict acknowledges the right to resist against dictatorship and represents the triumph of justice over politics and economic dealings and interests," she said.

Despite the ruling, the PMOI funds will remain frozen because the court said France had obtained evidence the group was still active in violent activity, a claim the group denies.

The PMOI was included on state terrorism lists due to its violent opposition to the clerical regime in Iran, though the court ruling says the group had renounced all military activity since June 2001.

The EU court decision follows an earlier ruling in May by the British Court of Appeal saying London erred in its decision to continue to list the PMOI as a terrorist organization.

The PMOI is confined to Ashraf City in Iraq under U.S. protection.