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{{Infobox_Political_Party 
|  party_name       = People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran<br>سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران
|  colorcode        = #FF0000 
|  party_logo       = [[Image:Mojahedin Khalgh - Logo.gif|112px|]] 
|  leader           = [[Massoud Rajavi]]
|  Secretary General= [[Seddigheh Hosseini]]
|  foundation       = [[1965]]
|  ideology         = [[Islamic antifundamentalist]]
|  headquarters     = [[Ashraf]], [[Iraq]]
|  website          = [http://www.mojahedin.org/pages/index.htm Official Website of the PMOI]
}}
The '''People's Mujahedin of Iran''' (PMOI, also MEK, MKO) ([[Persian language|Persian]]: سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران ''sāzmān-e mojāhedin-e khalq-e irān'') is an Islamic organization that advocates the overthrow of [[Iran]]'s current government.
  
Founded in 1965, the PMOI was originally devoted to armed struggle against the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]], [[capitalism]], and Western [[imperialism]].<ref>Keddie, Nikkie, ''Roots of Revolution'', (1981), p.238</ref> The group officially renounced violence in 2001<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6172481.stm BBC News, 12 Dec 2006, EU unfreezes Iran group's funds ]</ref> and today is it the main organization in the [[National Council of Resistance of Iran]] (NCRI), an "umbrella coalition" parliament-in-exile that claims to be dedicated to a [[democratic]], [[secular]] and coalition government in Iran. The PMOI's armed wing is, or was, called the ''National Liberation Army of Iran'' (NLA).  The Iranian government  officially refers to the organization as the ''Monafeqin'' (literally, "''Hypocrites''"), maintaining that PMOI is not truly Islamic.<ref name="Monafeqin">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2655|title=Secret memo says Iran’s new president “fired coups de grace”|accessdate = 2006-12-06|publisher=Iran Focus|year=2006}}</ref>

Considerable controversy surrounds the issues of whether the NCRI is merely a [[front group]] for the PMOI<ref name="fasfbi">[http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/mek-usca070904.pdf DC Court of Appeals Rules Against NCRI Petition for Review of "Foreign Terrorist Organization" Designation], [[July 9]], [[2004]], [[United States Court of Appeals]], [[District of Columbia]]</ref><ref name="axworthy">{{cite web|last=Kliger|first=Rachelle|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Resistance group claims evidence of Iranian bomb ambitions|work=|publisher=The Media Line|date=[[January 11]], [[2006]]|url=http://www.nci.org/06nci/01/02.htm|format=|doi=|accessdate=2006-12-28}}</ref>, whether the NCRI is involved in terrorism, or if it is a "a legitimate dissident organization fighting for democracy in Iran"<ref name="BadDealey>[http://www.nationalreview.com/25mar02/dealey032502.shtml  NRO, “A Very, Very Bad Bunch”
 by sam Dealey]</ref> whose accusers are attempting to use it as a bargaining chip with its enemy the [[History of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]].

[[United States]], [[European Union]], [[Canada]], [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] have designated the PMOI a [[terrorist organization]].<ref name="eu-fto">{{cite journal|title=COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP| journal=Official Journal of the European Union|year=2005|volume=L 314|page=44|url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_314/l_31420051130en00410045.pdf}}</ref><ref name="crt">{{Cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm|title=Chapter 6 -- Terrorist Organizations|accessdate=2007-07-15|publisher=US Department of State|year=2007}}</ref> Although the [[European Court of Justice]] has overturned the EU  designation in December 2006,<ref> [http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/afp/001/mon/061212185631.3avhw1zi.asp Terrorisme: la justice européenne appelle l'UE à justifier sa liste noire], ''[[Radio France International]]'', [[December 12]], [[2006]] {{fr icon}} </ref> the [[Council of the European Union|Council of the EU]] declared on [[30 January]] [[2007]] that it would maintain the organization on the blacklist.<ref> [http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/2831/69/ EU’s Ministers of Economic and Financial Affairs’ Council violates the verdict by the European Court], [[National Council of Resistance of Iran|NCRI]] website, [[February 1]], [[2007]].</ref><ref>[http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/2832/70/ European Council is not above the law], NCRI website, [[February 2]], [[2007]]</ref> ''(See: [[#Designation as a terrorist organization|Designation as a terrorist organization]])''
The PMOI won its legal battle against the EU when the European Court of Justice First Instance ruled in its favour on 12 December 2006. A British court, Proscribed Organisations appeal Commission ( POAC) also ruled in favour of PMOI on 30 November 2007. (Link: http://www.siac.tribunals.gov.uk/poac/Documents/outcomes/PC022006%20PMOI%20FINAL%20JUDGMENT.pdf).  Both of these verdicts have not yet been implemented by the EU and UK respectively.    
- On 23 January 2008 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on the terrorist list based on a report by Swiss Liberal Senator Dick Marty ( Paragraphs 54 to 58) which insisted on the removal of PMOI from black lists.    
- A week later on 31 January 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Iran which took notes of these two verdicts in EU and UK courts.
- On 7 May 2008, the UK Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, against a decision by the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission to remove the PMOI from the list of groups banned under the Terrorism Act 2000. Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice, said there was no evidence that the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran was currently involved in terrorism. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7387531.stm][http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/579315.html]


The PMOI and the NCRI have provided intelligence on the Islamic Republics's clandestine nuclear activities in 2002, and 2008, which has turned to be a major concern of the international community.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17086418/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098/ Blowup? America’s Hidden War With Iran - Newsweek: World News - MSNBC.com]</ref> <ref>[http://www.einnews.com/northkorea/newsfeed-north-korea-education north korea education ] no link to original story</ref>

==Other names==
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is known by a variety of names including:
*'''Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization''' (MEK)
*The '''National Liberation Army of Iran'''
*''(Disputed)'' '''[[National Council of Resistance of Iran]]''' (NCRI) - the PMOI is the founding member of a wide coalition of organizations called the NCRI, while others including the U.S. [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] claims that the NCRI is either an "alias" for or a [[front group]] for the PMOI.<ref name="fasfbi" /><ref name="axworthy" />
<!-- The [[Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran]] (KDPI) was for some times member of the NCRI. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} -->
*'''Monafiqeen-e-Khalq''' (MKO) - the Iranian government consistently refers to the People's Mujahedin with this name, meaning "hypocrites of the people."

''Note: The term MEK and PMOI are used interchangeably throughout this article.''

==Membership==
Before the 2003 [[Iraq War]] the PMOI claimed to have an armed [[guerrilla]] force of 30,000 – 50,000 based in Iraq. Jane's Terrorism Intelligence Centre estimation of its strength at 15,000 – 20,000,<ref name="au_act">{{Cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm|title=Behind the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK)|accessdate=2007-07-15|publisher=Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group, Parliament of Australia|year=2003|author=Nigel Brew}}</ref> while the US-based think-tank, [[Council on Foreign Relations]] (CFR), gave an estimate in 2005 of 10,000 members, one-third to one-half of whom were fighters. CFR believes PMOI membership has dwindled and that the organization has had little success attracting new recruits.<ref name="cfr1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9158/|title=Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (Iranian rebels)|accessdate = 2006-09-05|publisher=Council on Foreign relations|year=2005}}</ref> A 2003 article in the ''[[New York Times]]'' gave a similar estimate of 5,000 fighters based in Iraq — many of them female.<ref name="Rubin">{{cite web| url=http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/sloth/2003-07-15.html| title= The Cult of Rajavi| first=New York Times| last=Rubin, Elizabeth| accessdate=2006-04-21}} {{en icon}}</ref> A recent census of Ashraf, where the aging population of "fighters" is located, has a little more than 3500 members with less than 900 women there{{Fact|date=July 2007}}.

== History ==
===Before the Islamic Revolution===
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran was founded after the in 1963 repression in Iran as a splinter group of the Islamic Liberation movement.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=i4O8xI5oq1AC&pg=PA293&lpg=PA293&dq=shariati+mujahideen&source=web&ots=Diegl1ffDw&sig=pnm-HKbtG0gA0iaDECkbIxNGHig&hl=en Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements By James DeFronzo]</ref> Its original leaders included middle-class students at Tehran University, [[Mohammad Hanifnejad]], [[Saied Mohsen]] and [[Ali-Asghar Badizadegan]]. The PMOI opposed the rule of [[Shah of Iran|Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], considering him corrupt and oppressive. In its first five years, the group primarily engaged in ideological work, combining their interpretation of [[Islam]] and the experiences of [[Marxist philosophy]]. Before the PMOI had carried out any military operations against the Shah's government, a raid by the Shah's secret police, [[SAVAK]], arrested the entire leadership and 90 percent of its cadres. All but one of its leaders were executed. Other members remained incarcerated for many years, with the last group, including [[Massoud Rajavi]], being released just before [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Khomeini]] arrived in Tehran in January 1979. 

In May 1975 the PMOI had an ideological split. The majority of PMOI leaders who had not been imprisoned voted to accept Marxism and declare the organization [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]. This was expressed in a pamphlet entitled ''Manifesto on Ideological Issues'', were the central leadership declared "that after ten years of secret existence, four years of armed struggle, and two years of intense ideological rethinking, they had reached the conclusion that Marxism, not Islam, was the true revolutionary philosophy." Mujtabi Taleqani, son of Ayatallah Taleqani was one of these converts to Marxism.  Thus after May 1975 there were two rival Mujahedins, each with its own publication, its own organization, and its own activities. <ref>''Iran Between Two Revolutions'' by Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton University Press, 1982, p.493-4</ref> Immediately after the Iranian Revolution the marxist Mujahedin remained itself "[[Peykar]]".<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand, ''Tortured Confessions'', University of California Press, (1999), p.151</ref>

Leading up to the Islamic Revolution the PMOI conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets. <ref name="crt" /> According the [[U.S. Department of State]] and the presentation of the PMOI by the Foreign Affairs group of the [[Australian Parliament]], the group conducted several assassinations of U.S. military personnel and civilians working in Iran during the 1970s. After the revolution the group actively supported the [[Iran hostage crisis|U.S. embassy takeover]] in Tehran in 1979.<ref name="au_act" /> The organization now claims the assassinations were carried out and conducted by a group which staged a coup inside the organization and killed some members of the PMOI.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}

=== Ideology: before and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution ===
The PMOI's original [[ideology]] was based on an interpretation of Islam, influenced by [[Ali Shariati]].  According to Shariati, Islam promoted and required revolution "against despotic rulers, foreign exploiters, greedy capitalists and false clerics."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=i4O8xI5oq1AC&pg=PA293&lpg=PA293&dq=shariati+mujahideen&source=web&ots=Diegl1ffDw&sig=pnm-HKbtG0gA0iaDECkbIxNGHig&hl=en Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements By James DeFronzo]</ref>   According to the [[U.S. Department of State]]' presentation of the PMOI, the philosophy of the PMOI is a combination of Marxism, [[Nationalism]] and Islam.<ref name="crt" />

In more recent years PMOI, or at least NCR, publications have talked about how the Word of God and Islam are meaningless without freedom and respect for individual volition and choice and how the Quran says that the most important characteristic distinguishing man from animals is his free will.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}

Under the guidance of Maryam Rajavi the organization has adopted strong principles in favor of women. Women have now assumed the most senior positions of responsibility within the ranks of the PMOI and although women make up only a third of fighters, two-thirds of its commanders are women. Rajavi ultimately believes that women should enjoy equal rights with men.<ref>[http://www.iran-democracy.com/Maryam-Rajavi/ Maryam Rajavi Freedom and democracy for Iran is best achieved by the Iranian people and their Resistance ]</ref>

In 1981, the PMOI formed the [[National Council of Resistance of Iran]] (NCRI) with the stated goal of uniting the opposition to the Iranian government under one [[umbrella organization]]. The PMOI claims that in the past 25 years, the NCRI has evolved into a 540-member parliament-in-exile, with a specific platform that emphasizes [[free elections]], [[gender equality]] and equal rights for ethnic and religious minorities: "political pluralism and a multi-party system ... democracy as the sole guarantee for the advancement and progress of the country. ... equal political and social rights ... [regardless of] gender, creed or religion. ... elections and the popular vote as the sole criterion of legitimacy for elected officials," respect for "the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and "separation of Church and State." <ref>[http://www.iran-e-azad.org/english/ncri.html National Council of Resistance of Iran]</ref>

The PMOI claims that it also advocates a free-market economy and supports peace in the Middle East. However, the [[FBI]] claims that the NCRI "is not a separate organization, but is instead, and has been, an integral part of the [PMOI] at all relevant times" and that the NCRI is "the political branch" of the PMOI, rather than vice versa. Although the PMOI is today the main organization of the NCRI, the latter previously hosted other organizations, such as the [[Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran]].<ref name="fasfbi" />

=== Conflict with the Islamic government ===
The newly established theocratic government of [[Ayatollah Khomeini]] in Iran began to feel threatened by the PMOI and launched a fierce campaign to crush it. Hundreds of PMOI supporters and members were killed from 1979 to 1981, and some 3,000 were arrested.<ref>[http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3632 MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base]</ref> Ultimately, the organization called for a massive demonstration on [[June 20]] [[1981]], to protest against the new leadership under the banner of Islam. At this demonstration, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards) opened fire on the demonstrators and several hundred were killed.PMOI called this event a turning point in Iran’s contemporary history.

On [[28 June]] [[1981]], two years after the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the PMOI detonated bombs at the headquarters of the since-dissolved [[Islamic Republic Party]]. Around 70 high-ranking officials, including Chief Justice [[Mohammad Beheshti]] (who was the second figure after Ayatollah [[Khomeini]] at the time), cabinet members, and members of parliament, were killed.<ref> [http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?id=1521846767-1053 Cooperative Research]</ref> Two months later, the PMOI detonated another bomb in the office of the president, killing President [[Rajai]] and Premier [[Mohammad Javad Bahonar]]. These are considered the most important attacks in the history of the PMOI against the Iranian government.

Eventually, the PMOI relocated to [[France]], where it operated until 1986, when tension arose between Paris and Tehran over the [[Eurodif]] nuclear stake and the French citizens kidnapped in the [[Lebanon hostage crisis]]. After Rajavi flew to Baghdad, French hostages were released. The PMOI disclosed a tape of conversation by some Iranian official in the Iranian embassy in Paris showing the plot of repatriation of Massoud Rajavi to Iran. From then on, the PMOI resided in Iraq, protected by [[Saddam Hussein]] who had been at [[Iran-Iraq War|war with Tehran]] since 1980. 

{{main|1988 executions of Iranian prisoners}}
Thousands of political prisoners from the PMOI, and also from other opposition groups,<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/view/5754/1/231/ Iranian party demands end to repression]</ref> were executed in [[1988 executions of Iranian prisoners|1988]], following [[Operation Mersad]] (see below).<ref name="a"> [http://www.mehr.org/massacre_1988.htm 1988 massacre] </ref><ref> In this operation PMOI penetrated as deep as 170 km into Iranian soil and very close to Kermanshah, the most important city in western Iran.[http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/09/the_1988_iran_massacre_crimes.html 1988 massacre] </ref><ref>[http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=160 Memories of a slaughter in Iran]</ref><ref>Nasrin Alavi (2005), We Are Iran.</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/02/04/wiran04.xml Khomeini fatwa 'led to killing of 30,000 in Iran'], ''[[The Telegraph]]'', [[February 2]], [[2001]] </ref> Dissident [[Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri|Ayatollah Montazeri]] has written in his memoirs that this massacre, deemed a crime against humanity, was ordered by Ayatollah [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] and carried out by several high-ranking members of Iran's current government. [[Ahmad Khomeini]] son of Ayatollah Khomeini, whom Montazeri accused of collaboration in the killings, died mysteriously during the [[Chain Murders of Iran]].

=== Relations with France in the mid-1980s ===

In 1986, after French Prime Minister [[Jacques Chirac]] struck a deal with Tehran for the release of French hostages held prisoners by the [[Hezbollah]] in Lebanon, the PMOI was forced to leave France and relocated in Iraq. Investigative journalist [[Dominique Lorentz]] has related the 1986 capture of French hostages to an alleged blackmail of France by Tehran concerning the [[Iranian nuclear program|nuclear program]].<ref> [[Dominique Lorentz|Lorentz, Dominique]] and Carr-Brown, David, ''La République atomique'' ("The Atomic Republic"), broadcast on [[November 14]], [[2001]] on [[Arte TV]] </ref>

=== Relations with Iraq under Saddam Hussein and the Iranian government ===

The PMOI transferred its headquarters to Iraq in 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war. According to the [[US State Department]], the PMOI received all of its military support and most of its financial assistance from Saddam's government until the [[2003 Invasion of Iraq]]. But the PMOI denies these accusations and insists that it had always remained independent of Iraq. PMOI declared its impartiality in Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003.
The PMOI also has used [[front organization]]s to solicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.

The PMOI's decision to move its headquarters to Iraq in the middle of [[Iran-Iraq War|the war]] caused the PMOI to lose most of its supporters in Iran, regardless of their views towards the Iranian government.<ref name="csm">{{Cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1231/p10s01-woiq.html|title=Inside a group caught between three powers|accessdate=2007-07-15|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|year=2003|author=Scott Peterson}}</ref> A report by the Foreign Affairs group of the Australian Parliament states ''"[The PMOI] is believed to have lost much of its popular support within Iran since siding with Iraq"''.<ref name="au_act" /> The PMOI claims it has always maintained its independence from its Iraqi host and denies "siding with Iraq" during the [[Iran-Iraq War]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

====National Liberation Army of Iran====

{{see|Operation Mersad}}
Near the end of the [[Iran-Iraq War|1980-1988 war with Iran]], a military force of 7000 members of the PMOI, armed and equipped by Saddam's Iraq and calling itself the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA), went into action.  On July 26, 1988, six days after the Ayatollah Khomeini had announced his acceptance of the UN brokered ceasefire resolution, the NLA advanced under heavy Iraqi air cover, crossing the Iranian border from Iraq. It seized and razed to the ground the Iranian town of Islamabad-e Gharb. As it advanced further into Iran, Iraq ceased its air support and Iranian forces cut off NLA supply lines and counterattacked under cover of fighter planes and helicopter gunships. On July 29 the NLA announced a voluntary withdrawal back to Iraq. The PMOI claims it lost 1400 dead or missing and the Islamic Republic sustained 55,000 casualties (either IRGC, Basij forces, or the army).  The Islamic Republic claims to have killed 4500 NLA and Iraqi troops during the operation.<ref>Hiro, Dilip, ''The Longest War'', (1999), p.246-7</ref>  The operation was called ''Foroughe Javidan'' (Eternal Light) by the PMOI and the counterattack [[Operation Mersad]] by the Iranian forces.

====Post-war====
According to presentations of the PMOI by the U.S. Department of State and the Foreign Affairs group of the Australian Parliament, the PMOI are also accused of having assisted the [[Iraqi Republican Guard]] in suppressing the [[1991 uprisings in Iraq|Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in Iraq]] after the 1991 [[Persian Gulf War]].<ref name="au_act" /> [[Maryam Rajavi]], who assumed the leadership role of the PMOI after a series of years as co-leader alongside her husband Massoud Rajavi, has been reported by former members of the PMOI as having said: "Take the [[Kurds]] under your tanks, and save your bullets for the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps|Iranian Revolutionary Guards]]."<ref name="Rubin">{{cite web| url=http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/sloth/2003-07-15.html| title= The Cult of Rajavi| first=New York Times| last=Rubin, Elizabeth| accessdate=2006-04-21}} {{en icon}}</ref> This has been formally denied by the PMOI.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

In the following years the PMOI conducted several assassinations of political and military figures of the Islamic Republic, including [[Asadollah Lajevardi]], who was known as the "butcher of Evin," in [[1998]] and deputy chief of the [[Iranian Armed Forces]] [[General Staff]], [[Brigadier General]] [[Ali Sayyad Shirazi]], who was assassinated on the doorsteps of his house on [[April 10]] [[1999]].

=== After the 2003 invasion of Iraq ===
After the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], PMOI camps were bombed by coalition forces because of its alliance with Saddam Hussein. On [[April 15]], [[United States Special Operations Forces|U.S. Special Forces]] brokered a ceasefire agreement with the leaders of the PMOI and entered into a ceasefire agreement with the coalition after the attack. Each compound surrendered without hostilities.<ref>Labeled terrorist group turns over weapons to U.S. ; Members of MEK -- backed by Saddam Hussein -- also agree to be interviewed by intelligence officials.; Eric Slater / The Los Angeles Times. The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Mich.: [[May 12]], [[2003]]. pg. A.3</ref><ref>U.S. gets Iranian rebels in Iraq to disarm; [Chicago Final Edition] EA Torriero, Tribune staff reporter Tribune news services contributed to this report. Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Ill.: [[May 11]], [[2003]]. pg. 8</ref><ref> Agreement disbands Iranian exile force; [Final Edition] Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wis.: [[May 11]], [[2003]]. pg. 14.A</ref> This was a controversial agreement both in the public sphere and privately among the [[George H. Bush|Bush administration]] due to the MEK's designation as a terrorist organization by the [[U.S. State Department]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpt-mi.org/pdf_secure.php?pdffilename=MeK|title=Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) Dossier|format=pdf|date=2005-03-15|author=Nicole Cafarella}}</ref> 

In the operation, the US reportedly captured 6000 MEK soldiers and over 2000 pieces of military equipment, including 19 British-made Chieftain tanks.<ref>US DOD: DoD News Briefing M2 Presswire. Coventry: Jun 19, 2003. pg. 1, and "Armed Iranian exiles surrender; 6,000-member unit accepts U.S. terms" John Sullivan, Knight Ridder Newspapers. The Record. Bergen County, N.J.: May 11, 2003. pg. A.17</ref> The [[MEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)|MEK compound]] outside Fallujah became known as Camp Fallujah and sits adjacent to the other major base in Fallujah, Forward Operating Base [[Dreamland, Iraq|Dreamland]]. Captured MEK members were kept at Camp Ashraf, about 100 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad.<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/camp-ashraf.htm "Camp Ashraf" ''US Military Occupation Facilities'' GlobalSecurity.org </ref>

After a four-month investigation by several U.S. agencies, including the State Department, only a handful of charges under U.S. criminal law were brought against PMOI members, all American citizens. The PMOI remains listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the Department of State.<ref>[http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)] </ref> Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared PMOI personnel in Ashraf [[protected person]]s under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]].  They are currently under the guard of [[US Military]].  Defectors from this group are housed separately in a refugee camp within [[Camp Ashraf]], and protected by U.S. Army military police (2003-current), U.S. Marines (2005-2007), and the [[Bulgarian Army]](2006-current).<ref>[http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_9556-Bulgarian-Military-To-Stay-In-Iraq.html Bulgarian Military To Stay In Iraq]</ref><ref>[http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=75484 Bulgaria: Bulgaria Sends New Unit to Iraq]</ref>

=== 2003 French raid ===
{{see|Irano-French relations}}
In June 2003 French police raided the PMOI's properties, including its base in [[Auvers-sur-Oise]], under the orders of anti-terrorist magistrate [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]], after suspicions that it was trying to shift its base of operations there. 160 suspected PMOI members were then arrested. In response, 40 supporters began [[hunger strike]]s to protest the arrests, and ten [[immolation|immolated]] themselves in various European capitals. French Interior Minister [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] ([[Union for a Popular Movement]]) declared that the PMOI "recently wanted to make France its support base, notably after the intervention in Iraq", while [[Pierre de Bousquet de Florian]], head of France's domestic intelligence service, claimed that the group was "transforming its [[Val d'Oise]] centre [near Paris]... into an international terrorist base".<ref>{{cite news | title=France investigates Iran exiles | publisher=BBC News|date=[[June 22]], [[2003]]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3010422.stm}}</ref>

U.S. Senator [[Sam Brownback]], Republican of Kansas and chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on South Asia, then accused the French of doing "the Iranian government's dirty work". Along with other members of [[United States Congress|Congress]], he wrote a letter of protest to President [[Jacques Chirac]], while longtime PMOI supporters such as [[Sheila Jackson-Lee]], Democrat of Texas, criticized Maryam Radjavi's arrest.<ref name="Rubin">{{cite web| url=http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/sloth/2003-07-15.html| title= The Cult of Rajavi| first=New York Times| last=Rubin, Elizabeth| accessdate=2006-04-21}} {{en icon}}</ref> However, the PMOI members were quickly released. 

=== A "bargaining chip" between Tehran and Washington? ===
The same year that the French police raided the PMOI's properties in France, Tehran attempted to negotiate with Washington DC, proposing to withdraw military backing for [[Hamas]] and [[Hezbollah]] as well as give open access to their [[Iran's nuclear program|nuclear facilities]] in return for Western action in disbanding the PMOI, which was revealed by ''[[Newsnight]]'', a BBC current affairs program, in 2007. The BBC uncovered a letter written after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 where Tehran made this offer<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/6272661.stm BBC Newsnight article]</ref> The proposition was done in a secret letter given to Washington through [[Switzerland]]'s help. According to the BBC and to what had been understood by the US State Department, the letter had received authorization from the highest levels of the Iranian government. According to [[Lawrence Wilkerson]], former chief of staff of State secretary [[Colin Powell]], interviewed by the BBC, the State Dept would first have positively considered the offer. But it would ultimately have been rejected by the office of Vice-President [[Dick Cheney]].<ref name="bbc1">{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6274147.stm|title=Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'|accessdate=2007-07-15|year=2007}}</ref>

=== Nuclear intelligence ===
The PMOI and the NCRI were the first entities that revealed Iran's clandestine nuclear activities in 2002, which has turned to be a major concern of the international community today.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17086418/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098/</ref> Recently on Feb 20, 08, the NCRI revealed another clandestine nuclear site of Islamic Republic.<ref>[http://www.einnews.com/northkorea/newsfeed-north-korea-education north korea education ] no link to original story</ref>

== Designation as a terrorist organization ==
In 2001 the PMOI was designated a terrorist organisation in Britain, but this was controversial with some Lords and MPs who believe the PMOI is no longer terrorist. <ref>[http://www.metimes.com/Opinion/2008/01/17/op-ed_baroness_gibson_of_market_rasen/9458/]</ref><ref>[http://cornerstonegroup.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/time-for-a-rethink-on-iran-policy-and-pmoi-by-brian-binley-mp/ time for a rethink on iran policy and pmoi by brian binley mp]</ref><ref>[http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=4019&cid=1&sid=27]</ref> on Nov 30, 2007 the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Committee (POAC), a branch of the British High Court, ruled to annul the designation and ordered the government to remove PMOI from its terrorist list.<ref name=telegraph20071202/><ref name="breitbart" >http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paIran_fr12_Iran_opposition_blacklist Iran group moved from blacklist]</ref> 

The PMOI was designated as a [[terrorist organization]] by the [[United States]] (since 1997), [[Canada]], and [[Iran]].<ref name="eu-fto">{{cite journal | title=COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP| journal=Official Journal of the European Union| year=2005| volume=L 314| page=44| url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_314/l_31420051130en00410045.pdf}}</ref><ref name="crt" />  According to [[Wall Street Journal]]<ref name="WSJ"> {{Cite |title= Iranian Imbroglio Gives New Boost To Odd Exile Group |date=2006-11-29|publisher=Wall Street Journal |year=2006|author=Andrew Higgins and Jay Solomon }}</ref> "senior diplomats in the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration say the PMOI figured prominently as a bargaining chip in a bridge-building effort with [[Tehran]]." The PMOI is also on the [[European Union]]'s blacklist of terrorist organizations, which lists 28 organizations, since 2002.<ref name="Bonnet"> [http://www.les4verites.com/Defense-des-Moudjahidines-du-peuple-312.html?PHPSESSID=469e4a14dbc8d2850715f4a791c00dea Défense des Moudjahidines du peuple], [[Yves Bonnet]], former director of the French [[Direction centrale des renseignements généraux|RG intelligence agency]] {{fr icon}} </ref> The enlistments included: [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|Foreign Terrorist Organization]] by the United States in 1997 under the [[Immigration and Nationality Act]], and again in 2001 pursuant to section 1(b) of [[Executive Order 13224]]; as well as by the [[European Union]] (EU) in 2002.<ref>[http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf Council Decision], [[Council of the European Union]], [[December 21]], [[2005]]</ref> Its bank accounts were frozen in 2002 after the [[September 11 attacks]] and a call by the EU to block terrorist organizations' funding. However, the [[European Court of Justice]] has overturned this in December 2006 and has criticized the lack of "transparency" with which the blacklist is composed.<ref> [http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/afp/001/mon/061212185631.3avhw1zi.asp Terrorisme: la justice européenne appelle l'UE à justifier sa liste noire], ''[[Radio France International]]'', [[December 12]], [[2006]] {{fr icon}} </ref> However, the [[Council of the European Union|Council of the EU]] declared on [[30 January]] [[2007]] that it would maintain the organization on the blacklist.<ref> [http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/2831/69/ EU’s Ministers of Economic and Financial Affairs’ Council violates the verdict by the European Court], [[National Council of Resistance of Iran|NCRI]] website, [[February 1]], [[2007]]. </ref><ref>[http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/2832/70/ European Council is not above the law], NCRI website, [[February 2]], [[2007]] </ref> The EU-freezing of funds was lifted on [[December 12]], [[2006]] by the [[Court of First Instance|European Court of First Instance]].<ref name="lifted">http://curia.europa.eu/en/actu/communiques/cp06/aff/cp060097en.pdf</ref> In 2003 the US State Department included the NCRI on the blacklist, under Executive Order 13224.<ref> [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2003/23311.htm US State Dept press statement] by [[Tom Casey (diplomat)|Tom Casey]], Acting Spokesman, [[August 15]], [[2003]] </ref>

According to a 2003 article by the New York Times, the US 1997 proscription of the group on the terrorist blacklist was done as "a goodwill gesture toward Iran's newly elected reform-minded president, [[Mohammad Khatami]]" (succeeded in 2005 by more conservative [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]).<ref name="Rubin">{{cite web| url=http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/sloth/2003-07-15.html| title= The Cult of Rajavi| first=New York Times| last=Rubin, Elizabeth| accessdate=2006-04-21}} {{en icon}}</ref> In 2002, 150 members of the [[United States Congress]] signed a letter calling for the lifting of this designation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-71383195.html|title=
U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo: Mujahedin offers hope for a new Iran|publisher=Rocky Mountain News|date=2003-01-07}}</ref> The PMOI have also tried to have the designation removed through several court cases in the U.S. The PMOI has now lost three appeals (1999, 2001 and 2003) to the US government to be removed from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and its terrorist status was reaffirmed each time. The PMOI has continued to protest worldwide against its listing, with the overt support of some US political figures.<ref name="au_act" /><ref>United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Argued [[April 2]], [[2004]] Decided [[July 9]], [[2004]], [http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200407/01-1480a.pdf No. 01-1480: National Council of Resistance of Iran v. Department of State]</ref>

Past supporters have included Rep. [[Tom Tancredo]] (R-CO), Rep. [[Bob Filner]], (D-CA), and Sen. [[Kit Bond]] (R-MO), and former [[Attorney General]] [[John Ashcroft]], "who became involved with the [PMOI] while a Republican senator from Missouri."<ref>Michael Isikoff, "[http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/09.30B.nswk.bagdad.htm Ashcroft's Baghdad Connection]: Why the attorney general and others in Washington have backed a terror group with ties to Iraq", ''Newsweek'' ([[26 September]] [[2002]]).</ref><ref name="gso">{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050531-terror-list.htm|title=Group on U.S. terror list lobbies hard|accessdate=2007-07-15|publisher=United Press International|year=2005|author=Angela Woodall}}</ref> In 2000, 200 U.S. Congress members signed a statement endorsing the organization's cause.<ref name="newsweek">{{Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6242223/site/newsweek/ShadesofGray|title=Shades of Gray|accessdate=2007-07-15|publisher=Newsweek|year=2004|author=Michael Isikoff & Mark Hosenball}}</ref>

PMOI is– legally or at least well tolerated – active in [[Germany]], [[Denmark]] and many other countries of the European Union. The NCRI maintained an Information Office in Washington DC, USA until August 2002, when US Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]] issued an order to shut down the offices.<ref name="glw22feb06">{{Cite web|url=http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2006/657/657p16.htm|title=IRAN: US relies on terrorists for nuke 'intelligence’|accessdate=2006-05-01|publisher=Green Left Weekly|year=2006|author=Lorimer, Doug|work=Green Left Weekly, [[February 22]], [[2006]]. }}</ref> Recently, Dick Marty, Swiss investigator working for the human rights body the [[Council of Europe]], called this designation a violation of human rights.<ref>[http://www.ezilon.com/information/article_18729.shtml EU terror list criticised by human rights watchdog]</ref>

In April 2007, CNN reported that the US military and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] was continuing to protect the group, with the US army regularly escorting PMOI supply runs between Baghdad and its base, Camp Ashraf.<ref name="cnn06apr07">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/05/protected.terrorists/|title= U.S. protects Iranian opposition group in Iraq|accessdate=2007-04-06|publisher=CNN|year=2007|author=Ware, Michael|work=CNN website, [[April 6]], [[2007]]. }}</ref>
On Nov 30, 2007 the British Court,The Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission(POAC) ruled to the annulment of the terrorist designation and ordered the British government to remove PMOI off the terrorist list.<ref name=telegraph20071202/><ref name=breitbart/>

On Nov 30, 2007 the British Court,The Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission(POAC) ruled to the annulment of the terrorist designation and ordered the British government to remove PMOI off the terrorist list<ref name=telegraph20071202>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/02/nbook102.xml</ref><ref name=breitbart>[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paIran_fr12_Iran_opposition_blacklist&show_article=1&state=-1%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C1%7C0%7C0]</ref>
On Jan. 23, 2008, the European Council's Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Strasbourg, backed a report attacking the methods used by the UN Security Council and the EU to blacklist individuals and groups suspected of having terrorist connections abuse basic rights and are "completely arbitrary". This issue covers the case of the PMOI too. [http://euobserver.com/22/25123]

== Alleged human rights abuses ==

In May 2005, [[Human Rights Watch]] claimed the PMOI were running [[prison camp]]s within Iraq and were committing severe [[human rights violations]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Human Rights Abuses in the MKO camps | publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] | date=May 2005 | url=http://hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/4.htm}}</ref> The report described the PMOI as a [[cult]] held under the tight control of [[Maryam Rajavi]]. The report prompted a response by the PMOI and friendly [[Members of the European Parliament|MEPs]] (European MPs), who published a counter-report in September 2005.<ref name="fofi"> {{Cite web|url=http://ncr-iran.org/images/stories/advertising/ep%20report-with%20cover.pdf|title=People's Mojahedin of Iran - Mission report|accessdate = 2006-08-29|publisher=Friends of Free Iran - European Parliament|year=2005}} </ref> They noted that HRW had "relied only on 12 hours interviews with 12 suspicious individuals", and stated that "a delegation of MEPs visited Camp Ashraf in Iraq" and "conducted impromptu inspections of the sites of alleged abuses." [[Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca]] ([[People's Party (Spain)|PP]]), one of the [[Vice-President of the European Parliament|Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament]], alleged that Iran's [[Ministry of Intelligence and Security]] (MOIS) was the source of the evidence against the PMOI.<ref name="fofi" />

Prompted by the FOFI document, Human Rights Watch re-interviewed all 12 of the original witnesses, conducting private and personal interviews lasting several hours with each of them in Germany and the [[Netherlands]], where the witnesses now live. All of the witnesses restated their claims about the PMOI camps from the 1991-2003 period, saying PMOI officials subjected them to various forms of physical and psychological abuses once they made known their wishes to leave the organization.<ref name="iran12678">{{Cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/02/15/iran12678_txt.htm|title=Statement on Responses to Human Rights Watch Report on Abuses by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)|accessdate = 2006-08-29|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=2003}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[1988 Massacre of Iranian Prisoners]]
* [[Arms sales to Iraq 1973-1990]]
* [[Iran-Iraq War]]
* [[Massoud Rajavi]]
* [[Maryam Rajavi]]
* [[Camp Ashraf]]
* [[Masoud Banisadr]]
* [[MEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)]]
* [[Richard Perle]]
* [[Saddam's Trial and Iran-Iraq War]]
* [[Organizations of the Iranian Revolution]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
===Official===
*[http://www.english.mojahedin.org/pagesEn/index.aspx Official Website of the PMOI] 
*[http://www.iran-e-azad.org/english/ncri.html Website of the National Council for Resistance (NCR)]
*[http://www.ncr-iran.org/ National Council of Resistance of Iran - Foreign Affairs Committee]
*[http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/mek.htm U.S. Department of State: MEK Profile]

===Other===
*{{fa icon}} [http://www.nejatngo.com News and Information on Mujahedin-e Khalgh (MEK/MKO/NCR)]
*[http://www.mkowatch.com MKO Watch]
*[http://hjs.byteart.com/stories.asp?id=401 Brian Binley (British MP) argues for removing the PMOI from terror lists]
*[http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/EDITORIAL/112040004 Washington Times Article]
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/showdown/themes/mek.html pbs.org, Showdown with Iran, Mujahedin-e Khalq]


[[Category:U.S. State Department designated terrorist organizations]]
[[Category:Canada Public Safety designated terrorist entities]]
[[Category:European Union designated terrorist organizations]]
[[Category:UK Home Office designated terrorist groups]]
[[Category:Iranian Revolution]]
[[Category:Irregular military]]
[[Category:Islamic organizations]]
[[Category:Banned political parties]]
[[Category:National liberation movements]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1965]]
[[Category:Political parties in Iran]]
[[Category:Saddam Hussein]]
[[Category:Socialist parties]]
[[Category:Syncretic political movements]]

[[ar:حركة مجاهدي خلق]]
[[ca:Mojahedin-e-kalq]]
[[cy:Sāzmān-e mojāhedin-e khalq-e irān]]
[[de:Modschahedin-e Chalq]]
[[fa:سازمان مجاهدین خلق ایران]]
[[fr:Organisation des moudjahiddines du peuple iranien]]
[[it:Esercito di Liberazione Nazionale dell'Iran]]
[[he:מוג'אהדין ח'לק]]
[[no:Mujaheddin-e-Khalq]]
[[sv:Folkets mujahedin]]