Source: Press TV, 05-12-2008
The Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) is an exiled cult-like organization that resorts to terrorism to destabilize the Iranian government.
MKO terrorists with Interpol arrest warrants calling for their extradition to Iran have been released by Finland, a report says.
Two men were taken into custody upon entering Finland on Sunday and were held until a court on Wednesday ordered their release but required them to stay in the country, according to Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat.
Top MKO operations intelligence official Hadi Roshanravani and high-ranking theorist Mohammad-Ali Jaberzadeh Ansari are said to be the two who were arrested.
The men have traveled to Finland to pave the way for a visit by Maryam Rajavi, the wife of the founder of the MKO, who is herself a high-ranking member of the terrorist group.
While the Finnish Ministry of Justice will decide on the extradition request, Minister of Justice Tuija Brax said on Thursday Finland would not extradite criminals to countries where they may be sentenced to death or be sent to Guantanamo Bay.
Helsingin Sanomat has cited the Iranian ambassador to Helsinki as criticizing the release of the two high-ranking MKO members, saying the two should be handed over to Iranian officials to face trial.
"It is very dangerous to let them go even for a short time, as they can flee. The Finns are not used to these kinds of people," the daily quoted the Iranian diplomat as saying.
Officials in Helsinki reportedly believe the two men do not pose a threat to Finnish national security and say they have not received an official extradition request.
In recent months, high-ranking MKO members have been lobbying governments around the world in the hope of acknowledgement as a legitimate opposition group.
The release comes amid a major European campaign, spearheaded by Britain, to pressure Tehran.
In a recent move, Britain removed the MKO from its blacklist of terror organizations. The MKO has committed acts of aggression against both Iranian and Iraqi nationals and remains banned by the European Union and the United States.
In recent months, high-ranking MKO members have been lobbying governments around the world in the hope of acknowledgement as a legitimate opposition group.
The UK initiative, however, has prompted the European Union to establish relations with the exiled organization now based in Paris. The European Court of First Instance threw its weight behind the MKO on Thursday and annulled its previous decision to freeze its funds.
Evidence links the group to the June, 1981 bombing of the offices of the Islamic Republic Party, in which more than 72 Iranian officials were killed, including then Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.
The assassination the following August of Iranian president Mohammad Rajae'i and Prime Minister Javad Bahonar has also been attributed to the group.