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The 38th session of the Iranian regime’s show trial against members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) convened in Tehran on Tuesday, with prosecutors once again relying on sweeping allegations, contradictory claims, and open threats. The spectacle followed just days after the massive Free Iran rally in Brussels, which undercut the regime’s narrative that the PMOI lacks social support among Iranians, especially younger generations.
Court-appointed prosecutor Massoud Maddah accused the PMOI of “continuous cooperation with hostile states,” ranging from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the 1980s to Israel, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. “Wherever there is enmity against the Islamic Republic, they cooperate,” he insisted, though he offered no explanation of how one organization could simultaneously serve powers with irreconcilable interests.
In one of the day’s most aggressive remarks, a state-picked “expert” turned his focus to Albania, where thousands of PMOI members live in exile. “Tirana must know that hosting these terrorists makes it a target,” he declared, adding a cinematic claim that “they are already building 600,000 bomb shelters in fear of Iran’s missiles.”
#Tehran’s 35th Sham Trial Aims to Intimidate Resistance, Rewrite History, and Silence Global Supporthttps://t.co/Ruecq8ZsXB
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 11, 2025
The prosecution also recycled long-standing accusations, alleging that PMOI disclosures about Iran’s nuclear program facilitated the assassinations of scientists. “By passing information to foreign services, they caused the martyrdom of our nuclear experts,” one official told the court.
At the same time, prosecutors cited decades-old resistance publications as evidence of intent to overthrow the regime. “From the first day until now, they have declared that their goal is the overthrow of the Islamic Republic,” Maddah said, pointing to 1980s issues of the PMOI’s magazine as proof. Yet in the same breath, he claimed the organization had acted as a “contractor” for states ranging from Saddam Hussein to Israel — a contradiction that underscored the political, rather than judicial, nature of the proceedings.
The regime’s judiciary also tried to elevate the stakes by labeling PMOI activities as “ifsad fil-arz” (corruption on earth), a charge that carries the death penalty. The move appears designed to pave the way for mass executions of political prisoners accused of sympathizing with the group.
Deeply troubled by the @UN Special Rapporteur's report exposing its atrocity crimes and #genocide in the 1980s, the world's leading executioner per capita is using a sham trial in #Tehran to attack the UN. pic.twitter.com/TLSxwMB8an
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 19, 2024
Observers note that beyond the courtroom rhetoric, the trial serves clear political purposes: to justify repression at home, intimidate young Iranians drawn to the PMOI’s message of regime change, and pressure host countries in Europe to limit or expel the organization.
The September 6 Brussels rally, which brought together tens of thousands of supporters of the Iranian Resistance, alongside international dignitaries, shattered Tehran’s long-peddled myth that the PMOI is a “spent force.” The regime’s furious response was on full display in Tuesday’s session, where judges and hand-picked “experts” resorted to a mix of threats, contradictory accusations, and ritual invocations to mask their alarm. The shrillness of the rhetoric betrayed a leadership rattled by the movement’s resilience and growing appeal, especially among Iran’s younger generation.