PMOI appears headed for delisting in EU

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BRUSSELS, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The dissident People's Mujahedin of Iran based in Iraq's Diyala province seems headed for delisting as a terrorist group by the European Union, officials said.

Milena Vicenova, the Czech envoy to the EU, said the latest version of Europe's list of terrorist organizations did not include the PMOI, Europe's weekly EuropeanVoice.com reported Friday.

The European Court of First Instance, in its first one-day turnaround, found Dec. 4 that the EU had "violated the rights of defense" of the PMOI, adding Europe had not provided sufficient grounds to list the group as a terrorist entity.

"The fact is that since the court ruling on Dec. 4 in favor of delisting the People's Mujahedin of Iran, the PMOI was legally not on the EU terrorist list," said Maryam Rajavi, the head of the PMOI's political wing, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran.

The 27 foreign ministers of the European Union will consider the list formally Jan. 26. It needs unanimous approval for adoption.

The PMOI and NCRI both are considered terrorist groups by a number of nations, including the United States, for their violent opposition to the Iranian regime in the past. Both groups, however, have made significant progress in their efforts to be delisted following a revocation of violence in 2003.