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On Tuesday, September 17, the clerical regime in Iran held the 18th of its sham court in Tehran, established to enforce a nearly 40-year-old decree by the diseased Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini. The trial targets members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), an organization whose members have faced widespread massacres and assassinations by the regime both inside and outside of Iran.
Hamid Noury, a former prison guard convicted in Sweden for his role in the 1988 massacre and sentenced to life imprisonment, made a calculated appearance in the trial, staged for the cameras. His presence followed Sweden’s controversial decision to hand him over to Tehran, a move widely seen as an act of appeasement toward the regime’s hostage-taking tactics. This orchestrated event marks Tehran’s latest attempt to flaunt its defiance of international justice while seeking to intimidate domestic dissent.
Dehghani, the man playing the role of a judge in this mockery of justice, addressed the United Nations Secretary-General, human rights organizations, and foreign governments, saying, “The court expects that host countries of alleged terrorists will cooperate in extraditing them to Iran for prosecution.” He further demanded, “The Islamic Republic invites all host nations to hand over suspects in accordance with international protocols and laws.”
While representing the leading state sponsors of global terrorism, Dehghani had the audacity to claim that “The Islamic Republic, unlike the United States, does not breach the sovereignty of nations under the guise of counter-terrorism or promote double standards in its fight against terrorism.”
Another striking moment of this mock trial was the speech by Ali Sedaghat, a so-called expert on religious principles. His remarks were a thinly veiled attempt to justify the 1988 massacre, in which 30,000 political prisoners, mostly affiliated with the MEK, were executed. In a disturbing revision of history, Sedaghat asked, “Who were these people left in prison in 1988? They weren’t sympathizers; they were part of military units planning attacks.” He grotesquely added, “Some think they were supporters, but they were all arrested while plotting military operations.”
In one sweeping, stereotypical statement about the 30,000 victims, he falsely claimed, “They were taking orders from Ashraf camp (MEK’s base in Iraq) and were part of an organized structure. There was no one in prison other than actual members of the organization.”
He even justified the genocide by quoting a Friday prayer sermon by former Judiciary Chief Mousavi Ardebili, who reportedly said, “The people are demanding the execution of these individuals. They were told if they didn’t repent, the punishment would be death.”
Sedaghat went further, attacking MEK supporters abroad, saying, “Those who support these people and the Westerners attending their rallies will be remembered as the darkest individuals in history.”
The show trial also featured so-called witnesses, purportedly former MEK members, who were paraded to claim that the MEK leadership encouraged its members to seek martyrdom for political gain. One individual alleged that, as a MEK member, he had killed a civilian but was pardoned after six years by then-judge Ebrahim Raisi, the regime’s slain president. Another claimed that the MEK leadership deliberately influenced prisoners to resist pardon and face execution.
The 18th session of this sham trial was particularly revealing of the regime’s broader objectives. Beyond intimidating the Iranian people—especially the younger generation—from aligning with the MEK, and pressuring foreign governments and human rights organizations to distance themselves from the group, the trial serves a deeper purpose: to rewrite history and propagate false narratives about the regime’s genocide and atrocities over the years. For a regime that has been condemned more than 70 times by the United Nations General Assembly for its human rights abuses, the ultimate aim is to portray its victims as the culprits. In a staggering display of audacity, the Iranian regime believes these fabrications can deceive the international community and allow it to escape accountability for its crimes.
