Thursday, July 03, 2003

French Court Frees Iranian Group Leader by Pierre-Antoine Souchard 03 Jul 03 PARIS. A French court on Wednesday ordered the release of nine people arrested during a recent broad anti-terrorism sweep, including the leader of an exile group seeking to topple Iran's ultra-religious government, judicial officials said. But the Paris appeals court said Maryam Rajavi, a leader of the group Mujahedeen Khalq, and one other defendant must first pay bail. Rajavi was ordered to pay about $93,000 and likely will not be released before Thursday, the officials said... France's counterintelligence agency, the DST, claims the Mujahedeen was planning attacks on Iranian diplomatic missions in Europe and assassinations of Iranian secret agents in Europe. It also claims the group was planning to make its headquarters a nerve center for terrorism after losing its firepower in Iraq, where it mounted attacks on neighboring Iran. [Associated Press] 1:50:39 AM  Google It!