Two-minute read
In its 35th session of a sweeping in-absentia trial against 104 members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/PMOI), the Iranian regime has once again revealed its reliance on theatrics over truth, repression over justice. Held nearly four decades after the regime’s own genocidal massacres of the 1980s, this court proceeding is less about accountability and more about deflection—attempting to smear the very opposition it failed to crush through execution and censorship.
The trial, staged in Tehran, centers not only on long-discredited allegations, but on contradictory, fabricated witness accounts, often sourced from former regime insiders or security agents turned “defectors.” In one surreal exchange, a witness claimed PMOI fighters opened fire on civilians in a northern village—while simultaneously admitting the same individuals were members of the IRGC or affiliated militias. The contradictions were so stark that even the judge, a cleric himself, noted “insufficient investigation” and glaring gaps in the indictment.
At the heart of the regime’s case is the claim that the PMOI has engaged in terrorism and murdered civilians. Yet this narrative collapses under the weight of international legal findings. Courts and authorities in the UK, France, the European Union, and the United States have removed the PMOI from terrorist lists after exhaustive reviews. Not a single case has been substantiated in court proving the group’s involvement in targeting civilians. The Iranian regime, despite its bluster, has failed for decades to produce credible evidence.
#Iranian Regime Escalates Show Trial Against @Mojahedineng Amid Growing International Isolationhttps://t.co/S19qS35bIi
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 16, 2025
Fear of a Restive Society, Not Justice
This trial isn’t just about the past—it’s about the regime’s fear of the present. Besieged by internal crises, economic freefall, and a society brimming with unrest, Tehran is terrified that a disenfranchised youth will seek out genuine alternatives for dissent and regime change. The PMOI, with its organized structure, deep roots inside Iran, and growing legitimacy abroad, presents that very alternative.
This is why the regime isn’t content with just prosecuting Resistance leaders in absentia—it now attempts to intimidate their Western hosts. In court, regime officials declared that European countries like France, Germany, and the UK could be held “criminally liable” for allowing PMOI leaders to reside or speak on their soil. The warning extended even to citizens of these countries, claiming that support for the group “invites prosecution.”
Such threats are a direct response to growing international solidarity with the Iranian Resistance, seen in dozens of parliamentary hearings, human rights forums, and public gatherings across democratic countries. The regime’s message is clear: support for the PMOI—whether from Tehran or Toulouse—will be punished.
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
A Regime on Trial in the Court of Public Conscience
For all the pageantry and propaganda, it is the Iranian regime itself that appears increasingly on trial—for the 1988 massacre, for the 2022 killings, for the torture chambers still active today. And in its desperate attempt to recycle accusations, the regime inadvertently confirms its deepest fear: that it has not silenced its most organized opposition, nor erased the memory of its crimes.
A spokesperson for the PMOI put it plainly: “This trial isn’t about guilt or innocence. It’s about survival—of a regime that knows its time is up. The more they threaten us, the more they expose themselves. And the more they lie, the louder the truth becomes.”
In today’s Tehran courtroom, the verdict was never in doubt. But on the streets of Iran and in the halls of Western democracies, a different judgment is taking shape—one that no show trial can delay.