BRUSSELS, October 23, 2008 (AFP) - A European court on Thursday annulled an EU decision to freeze the assets of the main Iranian opposition in exile, dealing a fresh blow to the bloc's attempts to keep the group on its terror blacklist.

The Court of First Instance ruled that the EU had failed to give sufficient reasons to keep the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI) on the list, following a British court decision to remove them from the national list.

IRIS, Rome, Oct. 22 - A press conference was held today by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), headed by Maryam Rajavi, its elected leader.

The conference was held in the conference room of the Senate in the presence of Lucio Malan, Secretary of the Presidency of the Senate and other senators from various parties.

NCRI – Colonel Mehdi Ahmadi chief of operations for the State Security Forces (SSF) – mullahs' suppressive police – in greater Tehran announced a new plan to issue special ID cards for "thugs and hooligans" in the capital, reported the state-run news agency ISNA on Tuesday.

"Issuing IDs for the convicts with criminal records is to keep track of their behavior. They have to report on a set schedule to nearest police precinct," Ahmadi added.

NCRI – A young man identified as Qanbar Kelari was hanged in public outside Nashtaroud prison in the northern province of Gilan.

The 34-year-old Kelari cried, I was innocent but that did not save him from facing the gallows minutes later.

NCRI – The mullahs' regime announced a new judicial directive that bans the execution of child offenders for drug crimes but keeps capital punishment for those convicted of murder.

Hossein Zabhi, Deputy State Public Prosecutor, said the judges are still required under Iran's Islamic laws to issue death sentences for children convicted of murder if the victims' family refuses financial compensation.

By Mark Mazzetti
Source: The New York Times
 
WASHINGTON — They wake before dawn, with time to exercise, eat and pray before the day’s first class in firing Kalashnikov rifles.

Over the next eight hours, they practice using bazookas or laying roadside bombs, with a break for lunch and mandatory religious instruction.