Action memorandum 014 - May 28, 1996


FDI condemns EU laxism for Mazlouman assassination

This afternoon the French police discovered the body of an Iranianopposition publisher, Dr. Reza Mazlouman, in his apartment on theoutskirts of Paris, dead of two bullet wounds to the chest, and oneto the head. Family members and other sources close to Mazloumanclaim that he was murdered by Iranian government agents. The Frenchmedia announced that he had been "assassinated."

While the French police have only begun their investigation, Dr.Mazlouman's murder fits a known pattern of assassinations carried outby Iranian intelligence agents. Dr. Mazlouman had been active withopposition groups allied to former Prime Ministers Ali Amini andShahpour Bakhtiar, and more recently, with the Flag of FreedomOrganization of Dr. Manoucher Gandji, whom agents of the IslamicRepublic have tried to assassinate on at least three occasions,according to French police reports.

Police investigations in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Francehave concluded that "hit teams" dispatched from Tehran have beenresponsible for the murder of opponents of the Islamic regime livingin Europe over the past eight years . Despite the body of evidenceproving the involvement of Iranian government agents in thesemurders, including the arrest warrant issued earlier this year by theGerman police against Iran's Minister of Intelligence and Security,Ali Fallahian, for his role in ordering the 1992 assassination ofIranian Kurdish leader Sadegh Sharafkindi in Berlin, the EuropeanUnion has done nothing to limit the activities of Iranian governmentintelligence agents in Europe. Instead, Europe has maintained a"critical dialogue" with Tehran that has allowed European companiesto benefit from a multi-billion dollar business relationship withTehran, financed by European taxpayers, while Iran continues tomurder its opponents overseas and to support terrorist operationsaimed at undermining the Middle East peace process and U.S. allies inthe Middle East.

The presumed authors of the attack against Dr. Mazlouman are wellknown to French and German police authorities, and yet they have beenallowed to operate freely under commercial cover for the past twoyears.

The Foundation considers that Dr. Mazlouman is only the latest inthe long series of victims of Europe's "critical dialogue" withTehran, and calls on the European Union to crack down on Iraniangovernment-sponsored terrorism on European soil.

 


The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private,non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland.Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director (exec@iran.org).FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are availablefree-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org/.