NCRI Staff
NCRI – The International Committee In Search for Justice (ISJ) has just published its new report entitled “Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence Active in Europe”. The ISJ was started in 2008 and became an official non-profit in 2014. Based in Brussels, it has the support of thousands of elected parliamentarians, former officials and dignitaries. Its aim is to promote human rights, freedom, democracy, peace and stability and to seek justice for the Iranian democratic opposition.
In this latest report, the ISJ provides information about several cases of spying that have been investigated by counter-intelligence services in Europe.
Earlier in the year, an Iranian man was accused of spying on a French-Israeli economics professor and a German lawmaker. The High Court in Germany convicted him and the incident has been described as a clear attempt to assassinate. Another Iranian was convicted by a German court for spying on the Iranian opposition.
The ISJ mentions that the intelligence services in Germany have revealed that the Iranian regime is very much involved in spreading misinformation about its opponents. It also revealed that it has been recruiting former opposition members.
“The case of Masoud Dalili (Bahman Afrazeh) is a telling example. He was a former affiliate of the PMOI who had left Camp Ashraf, formerly home to several thousand PMOI members in Iraq. He was subsequently recruited by the MOIS. He was debriefed by the Quds Force in Iraq, who then used him as a guide for the commando-type attack on Camp Ashraf on 1 September 2013, which left 52 members of the PMOI dead and seven taken hostage. Dalili was also killed by the commandos at the end of the operation; they burnt his face to avoid his being recognized.”
The Iranian regime has also been tarnishing the image of dissidents and has targeted lawmakers in particular. It wants to disgrace the viable opposition with lies and false information.
“The disinformation is focused on the PMOI. Those involved have set up a number of bogus associations and approach parliamentarians in various European countries, pretending to be opponents of the regime and human rights activists. In most European countries, they have been essentially rejected by the parliamentarians.”
The report also speaks about the assassination of 45 year-old Saeed Karimian in April. He was an Iranian TV executive based in London. He was assassinated while he was in Turkey on business and it was discovered that a court in Tehran had sentenced him in absentia to a six-year prison term for acting against national security and spreading propaganda.
The report concludes that the Iranian Intelligence Services, as confirmed by European security services, is more active than it has ever been in Europe. It highlights that the main ways of operating are physical elimination, character assassination and intimidation. It also highlights that the main target is the Iranian opposition that is working towards a free and democratic Iran. Its supporters are also targeted.
It was also concluded that the execution of such actions has been facilitated by the Iran nuclear deal.